A few Fridays ago at the Troubadour marked a likely milestone in Cold War Kids burgeoning career, headlining a soldout show in Los Angeles. Hailing from Whittier, California, an LA suburb, Cold War Kids have been picking up steam lately. After having released a handful of EPs, CWK were just signed to Downtown Recordings (Art Brut, Gnarls Barkley, Eagles of Death Metal) and are set to release their full length “Robbers & Cowards” on October 10th. (That same day there will be a free in-store performance at Fingerprints in Long Beach at 7. They’ll also be at Spaceland on Oct. 11)
In witnessing their live show, its apparent why everything’s coming up roses for Cold War Kids. Not only do they play a catchy brand of indie rock, they’re also a rather handsome group of gentlemen making them apt rock n’ roll posterboys. Although on Friday night, lead singer Nathan Willett looked a bit like he had just come from his day job donning his casual Friday best. I suppose bands gotta work too!
Playing songs off their previous EPs, it was amazing to see the crowd fervently singing along to everything. Nathan Willet’s voice has an urgency to it when he sings, especially on their song “Hang Me Up To Dry.” It almost has a falsetto tone that seems be stretching every last bit out of his vocals. The four member band comes together on stage seamlessly and each player offers something different. Willet rotates between guitar and piano. The Cold War Kids’ drummer is especially energetic and reins over his kit with an iron fist, you could say (pun intended). Given their performance, watch for the Cold War Kids headlining larger venues soon.
