Cold War Kids - Mine Is Yours, a review

Before I begin I should point out that I've never actually listened to any of the Cold War Kids' material from their first two albums, so whether or not this is an improvement, selling out, repeated tedium or massive breakthrough is beyond my grasp.

What's immediately obvious though is that their sound tends to pastiche a variety of other artists around - there are guitar twangs reminiscent of Kings of Leon here, vocal delivery similar to The Gaslight Anthem and atmospherically it's similar to The National - and indeed this is a slight problem for me. Prior to listening their name was thrown about in the same vein as The National's, and upon discovering High Violet I was almightily disappointed.

That said, I never had too much hope of this. The reviews by NME, Slant and Spin have been less than favourable. But enough background information.



The titular track opens promisingly, with carefully-placed chimes and strong vocals passing by pleasantly. However, 'Louder Than Ever' has a somewhat irritating effect, the vocals appearing shrill and the track quite directionless. 'Royal Blue' has some redeeming bass hooks and guitar licks but again it's utterly unremarkable.

'Finally Begin' is another less than exciting track, placed somewhere between Vampire Weekend's twee-ness and Kings of Leon's distorted guitar sounds, but without the hook. 'Out of the Wilderness' by contrast is a welcome change of tone, bold chorus and even evoking U2 by the end with pointed acoustics and puncturing vocals.

'Skip the Charades' is so much a replica of Kings of Leon's "The End" (a track I happen to be particularly fond of) that I was initially fooled into thinking it novel and what I'd been missing. 'Sensitive Kid' is so devoid of interest that typing this sentence appears a stretch. 'Bulldozer' starts promisingly with an interesting rhythm but quickly descends into the same theme: twee vocals, uninspired backing.



By 'Broken Open' my patience is wearing thin. 'Cold Toes on the Cold Floor' has one or two bass hooks that catch my subconscious but that's about all, and 'Flying Upside Down' closes off the project with more of the same.

The overall impression I get of Mine Is Yours is that they're trying to emulate so many different sounds that, in doing so, their own identity is never established. Whilst there are infectious detours, you're always led back to their tribute-like quality. Perhaps the Cold War is a fitting epitaph - an era defined by uncertainty, hesitance and inevitably culminating in nothing spectacular.

Rating: 3.5/10
Highlights: Out of the Wilderness, Royal Blue, Mine Is Yours
Avoid: Sensitive Kid, Broken Open, Louder Than Ever, Bulldozer