Flashback to 2006. Cold War Kids were probably “the” blog band of the year.Their success was due to nonstop touring and great early EP’s. They put on energetic live shows that got their name spread from their hometown of Fullerton, California all the way to New York and everywhere in between. We all knew their songs by heart. Honestly who was not singing ‘Hang Me Up To Dry’, ‘We Used To Vacation’, ‘Hospital Beds’ in ’06? Everyone and their dog was into this band. They even opened for Muse for a bit! Now it is late 2008 and they finally released their highly anticipated follow up to their debut album. To be honest it seems many of the same bloggers who hyped Nathan Willett’s band to the sky, were the same ones who gave no shit about them anymore.
I however was eager to digest their sophomore album ‘Loyalty To Loyalty’. The sophomore album is always the toughest one for a band. You work your whole career crafting your debut album, then have a year to write another one. I can understand why a band’s 2nd album would be a daunting task. Cold War Kids do provide a decent follow up but it does have many flaws. The first two songs ‘Against Privacy’ & ‘Mexican Dogs’ are a solid start to the album (and sound good together) creating the familar Cold War Kids sound. You got Nathan crooning his stories just as well as before. Some songs reminded me of the 2nd half of ‘Robbers & Cowards’: Decent but almost filler compared to songs like ‘Hang Me Up To Dry’. The songs sometimes take forever to get to the point/good and by the time it does, it is hard to get moved. Unfortunatly for me some of the songs at the end of this album started to blend together and sound the same. That is not a good thing. Songs like ‘Every Valley Is Not A Lake’ and ‘Welcome To The Occupation’ show promise but don’t quite reach their full potential.
There are some bright spots though. Their single ‘Something Is Not Right With Me‘ is a great track that showcases everything right about Cold War Kids. The song is upbeat, catchy, and the band sounds tight. Nathan Willets dilevery adds something special to the song as well. ‘I’ve Seen Enough’ is a dark horse hit. It has a perfect transition from the lackluster ‘Avalanche In B’ and has a dark atmosphere that has it all. This song makes you remember why you were a fan of Cold War Kids. You only wish the rest of Loyalty To Loyalty sounded this sweet.
Don’t get me wrong the album is not terrible. There are two pretty standout singles that are well worth your time. Album closer ‘Cryptomnesia’ is a pretty good finish ending with a really lush conclusion. There are also tons of slower ballads that failed to captivate me like the songs on their debut album did. Yes, they do create atmosphere but it isn’t enough. This is sadly what prevents me from really liking this album. Maybe these songs are growers? If so, it didn’t happen with me. They probably could have shortened the album to 10 tracks easily.
All in all this is a pretty nice follow up. The band has so much going for them, I think next time around they should get back to their faster songs with a few ballads only to regain their breath. It is their strength. The songs do sound nice, but they feel too safe for me. Lets hope that their 3rd album showcases their talents like we hoped.
Rating: 6.8
- Against Privacy – 4/5
- Mexican Dogs – 4/5
- Every Valley Is Not a Lake – 3.75/5
- Something Is Not Right With Me – 4.75/5
- Welcome to the Occupation – 3.75/5
- Golden Gate Jumpers – 3/5
- Avalanche In B – 2/5
- I’ve Seen Enough – 4.75/5
- Every Man I Fall For – 2.75/5
- Dreams Old Men Dream – 3/5
- On The Night That My Love Broke Through – 2.5/5
- Relief – 3/5
- Cryptomnesia – 3/5
Cold War Kids – Something Is Not Right With Me (MP3)
Cold War Kids – I’ve Seen Enough (MP3)
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