Reagan babies, missile fears, and international blues. Cold War Kids began in the fall of '04 with jangly guitar, handclaps, and a Harmony amp in a storage room atop a restaurant in Fullerton, CA. For the first sessions between four friends, having instruments was not as important as heavy stomping, chanting and laughter. Clanging on heat pipes, thumping on plywood walls. Hollering into tape recorders. Slipping and swaying into alleyways and juke joints. Dreaming the American dust bowl and British maritime. On the roof the sound and feeling was cultivated and burned, built and hallowed out, painted and stripped to the primer. <br> <br>Using songs of Dylan, Billie Holiday, and the Velvet Underground as a road map, they listen to their tiny inner voice to manipulate and structure their style with honesty. In 2005/2006 Cold War Kids self-released 3 six song EP's ("Mulberry Street," "Up in Rags," and "With our Wallets Full".) And toured relentlessly, sometimes with compadres Tapes &#8216;n Tapes and Two Gallants. It was these sweltering live shows and limited edition CDs that created the rapid word-of-mouth, giving birth to a burgeoning fan base, sold-out shows in cities across the country, glowing reviews in magazines like Rolling Stone & Blender. The band chose Downtown Records, the young Manhattan-based home to such talents as Gnarls Barkley and Eagles of Death Metal. A deal signed, the band regrouped to the studio and recorded their impressive and striking debut robbers & cowards in a matter of weeks. The result captures all of the raw power, smoldering energy and loose-limbed blues that make their live shows so invigorating.<br><br>Lyrically, Cold War Kids write stories about human experience in orchards, hotel rooms, laundromats & churches, seaports & school halls; characters that are funny and serious at the same time, like J.D. Salinger or "Peanuts." There is the man poaching bills from the collection plate during Sunday masses, and a little prodigy whose mother is poking him to admire the Grand Canyon out the station wagon window; these are everyday wretched people trying their damnedest to live well while teetering between despair, complacency and joy. Tracks like &#8220;Hang Me Up To Dry&#8221; and &#8220;Hospital Beds&#8221; are fast fan favorites, full of menacing basslines, atmopsheric piano and urgent vocals. There&#8217;s a pretense of the ramshackle about these songs, but only in the way that Dylan and The Band managed the same. Listen closely; there&#8217;s a rich intricacy beneath that raggle taggle delivery.<br><br>Much like Blue Note Artists of the '50's, the music of the group walks hand in hand with it's graphic design. Bass player Matt Maust is responsible for creating the visual aesthetic by constantly documenting the band, friends, strangers, and situations both on tour and at home. The design facet is implemented through gallery shows, artistic web design, and supplement design books coinciding with music releases. Ultimately, Cold War Kids&#8217; intent is to present themselves not just as four musicians, but as an expanding artistic community in which everyone is invited to take part. &#8211; Nathan Willett, Cold War Kids<br> http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids Delta 0 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <a href="http://links.imeem.com/24NMScnmt_" title="http://coldwarkids.com/"></a></p><br /><p align="center"><strong>As promised, <a href="http://links.imeem.com/24OMSXnmt_" title="http://www.coldwarkids.com">Cold War Kids</a> will be releasing a 4 song EP called &lsquo;Behave Yourself&rsquo; on January 19. <a href="http://links.imeem.com/24OMSXnmt_" title="http://www.coldwarkids.com">Preview </a> some of the songs and the video for &lsquo;Audience&rsquo; that will come soon. Looks like they had a great time filming it in San Pedro too; in their rehearsal space, skating on the docks, driving on the bluffs, shaving in the tide pools and being nude in a friend of a friend&rsquo;s bathroom...ahem.<br />Cold War Kids are in the studio now writing and recording so you'll only be able to catch them on stage for 4 shows in January 2010, though they will be very special in that a free recording of each show will be downloadable with the ticket purchase, assuming they can figure out the technology...</strong></p> Cold War Kids Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/blogs/2009/10/27/Zl7K9dxd/cold-war-kids-new-ep-january-19-2010 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:28:22 -0000 mK1NiAPki_ Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/video/UBsYRM9Q/cold-war-kids-ive-seen-enough-music-video/ Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:19:07 -0000 <div><a href="http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/video/UBsYRM9Q/cold-war-kids-ive-seen-enough-music-video/"><img width="100" height="56" border="0" src="http://srv0204-06.sjc3.imeem.com/g/v/02d963aee76763d5d2bfad4d4b291353_00010.jpg" title="Click to play this video"/></a></div> SSC71X1CQH <p>If you missed out on Cold War Kids' performance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (and you can watch that <a href="http://links.imeem.com/24xO2gtBe_" title="http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O%27Brien/video/episodes/#vid=974102">here</a>), make sure you see them playing live alongside Seattle's own <a href="http://links.imeem.com/14b2htBe_" title="http://www.myspace.com/deathcabforcutie">Death Cab For Cutie</a> this April. Also, check out these awesome photos from their NYC show at the Mercury Lounge on 01/28/09 <a href="http://links.imeem.com/240GFitBe_" title="http://newyork.metromix.com/music/photogallery/cold-war-kids-mercury/922488/photo/all">here</a></p><br /><p>Find a show near you by clicking <a href="http://links.imeem.com/14b2jtBe_" title="http://www.myspace.com/coldwarkids">here</a> for details </p> Cold War Kids Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/blogs/2009/01/30/71mPq2Tt/cold-war-kids-open-for-death-cab-for-cutie-in-april-09 Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:53:17 -0000 TtX_tf-nn3 <p>Cold War Kids performed on January 28th, 2009 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, promoting their 2008 release <em>Loyalty To Loyalty</em>. Watch the video <a href="http://links.imeem.com/24xO2ns9e_" title="http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O%27Brien/video/episodes/#vid=974102">here</a>.</p><br /><br />Also, make sure you catch them live during their US tour, and playing with Death Cab For Cutie in April 09! Cold War Kids Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/blogs/2009/01/29/7WpYeF6_/cold-war-kids-perform-on-late-night-with-conan-obrien Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:44:29 -0000 5MO21NcdeM Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/Br1ze68j/cold-war-kids-relief/ Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:36:26 -0000 <div><a href="http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/Br1ze68j/cold-war-kids-relief/"><img border="0" src="http://icons-p2.imeem.com/Br1ze68j.jpg" title="Click to play this song"/></a></div> feBiE5FnRu Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/t4qlUdmq/cold-war-kids-on-the-night-my-love-broke-through/ Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:36:26 -0000 <div><a href="http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/t4qlUdmq/cold-war-kids-on-the-night-my-love-broke-through/"><img border="0" src="http://icons-p2.imeem.com/t4qlUdmq.jpg" title="Click to play this song"/></a></div> mESakEP1cS Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/wMGOeEmO/cold-war-kids-cryptomnesia/ Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:36:26 -0000 <div><a href="http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/wMGOeEmO/cold-war-kids-cryptomnesia/"><img border="0" src="http://icons-p3.imeem.com/wMGOeEmO.jpg" title="Click to play this song"/></a></div> JLf25zlboL Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/Mu_i6pCG/cold-war-kids-dreams-old-men-dream/ Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:36:24 -0000 <div><a href="http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/Mu_i6pCG/cold-war-kids-dreams-old-men-dream/"><img border="0" src="http://icons-p1.imeem.com/Mu_i6pCG.jpg" title="Click to play this song"/></a></div> Lg9k4H1Pmy Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/K71VYveG/cold-war-kids-ive-seen-enough/ Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:36:24 -0000 <div><a href="http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/K71VYveG/cold-war-kids-ive-seen-enough/"><img border="0" src="http://icons-p3.imeem.com/K71VYveG.jpg" title="Click to play this song"/></a></div> Pt7Y-hfKIW Cold War Kids http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/wpOCXVe3/cold-war-kids-every-man-i-fall-for/ Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:36:24 -0000 <div><a href="http://www.imeem.com/coldwarkids/music/wpOCXVe3/cold-war-kids-every-man-i-fall-for/"><img border="0" src="http://icons-p2.imeem.com/wpOCXVe3.jpg" title="Click to play this song"/></a></div> lJo4PYaMCf