Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

Just got this cd the other day. Wow. [censored] amazing.

The music is difficult to describe, but it sounds like a pot pourri, at times Modest Mouse, Tom Waits, Mars Volta, Radiohead, O.A.R., etc. Very different.

"We Used To Vacation" is the single, I'm not sure how much airtime it's getting where you are, but you can check out EQX and listen live, they play it periodically. The vocalist reminds me of Mars Volta, but less screechy and grating. The music is strange, but very listenable.

It's very rare that I buy a cd and love it on the first listen, but that was the case with "Robbers and Cowards". This cd just flat out pwns. Every single track is good.

Sorry this isn't much of a review I guess... basically you should own this cd. NME calls them "the best new band on earth" and that's not an understatement. Rolling Stone gave the album 4 stars. And now I'm giving it the only review necessary: MUST OWN. This thing is outta this world.

It is not the usual song structure, but not so experimental that it ruins the flow and listenability of the songs. The vocals play a big role, the lyrics are great, the music is interesting and varied... I just can't say enough about this album. If you like Modest Mouse, Radiohead, Mars Volta, Tool, O.A.R., Tom Waits or just good music in general I seriously recommend checking this album out. I'm not sure if it's on iTunes or not, but "We Used To Vacation", "Hang Me Up To Dry", and "Hospital Beds" are probably the 3 tracks I'd advise checking out if you're considering it.

If I was balla I'd just buy this cd for all of 2+2, but as it stands I can probably only afford to buy it for one of you, which I may or may not end up doing. It's that good - it inspires altruism. It cured my headache the first time I played it, and this most recent listen on the car ride home from out of town. I haven't been able to take it out of my cd player.

Check this [censored] out holmes, it is amazing.

edit: here's a video for "Hang Me Up To Dry"

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

The songs all seem to be on youtube here


Will listen and probably hate momentarily.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

Well, I actually really liked the two songs I listened to (Hospital Beds and Hang Me Up to Dry".

That probably means its too mainstream for the OOT Indie crowd, but I'm definitely going to be getting that CD.

I've decided that I pretty much am sick of every song I have, and am basically starting from scratch. I'm going to try and not listen to any song I have previously had, keep it going for a few months.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

Yeah it's good, I dunno about the OOT indie crowd as I don't generally associate myself with liking "indie" music... but the cd is amazing through and through, it's also only $9.99 at Albany area FYE stores (unsure if that promotion is going on elsewhere) so it's worth picking up.

I mean it's worth the $18 or whatever normal cds cost too. It's a terrific album. Glad you dug the songs!

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

Who in the world pays $18 for CDs?

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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Who in the world pays $18 for CDs?

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Your mom.

Seriously, check this cd out, it's good.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

in before
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Who in the world pays for CDs?

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fyp

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Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

Mbillie, do you have ADD in real life? Serious question.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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Mbillie, do you have ADD in real life? Serious question.

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I haven't been diagnosed with ADD, although I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility.

edit: and if I ever got legitimate prescription access to Ritalin, 2+2 would never be the same. I'd have 50k posts in a month.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

Holy crap this guy sounds SO much like the lead singer of Modest Mouse except without the speech problem.

I am intrigued so far. Good show.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

He's got a bit of a cleaner voice, the Modest Mouse guy is a little scratchy I think, but yeah I definitely hear the resemblance too. I love this cd, you should definitely check it out.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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check out EQX

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I seriously recommend checking this album out.

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Check this [censored] out

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it's worth picking up.

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Seriously, check this cd out, it's good.

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love this cd, you should definitely check it out.

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So I'm still a bit undecided. Do you think I should check this CD out?

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

Dude, you should totally check this cd out, it pwns.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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Dude, you should totally check this cd out, it pwns.

[/ QUOTE ]You seem enthusiastic about it.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

I'm surprised more people here have never heard the CWK before.

They are a really excellent band that has a pretty unique sound. Definitely one of the better new bands around.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

i'm suprised at how much you guys are praising CWK. i think they're mediocre. sounds like the singer finally moved on from a funk cover band he was in.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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I'm surprised more people here have never heard the CWK before.

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i'm suprised at how much you guys are praising CWK.

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you do realize that like 90% if the posts in thread were made by two people? only one of which who has heard more than 5 minutes of their music.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

The EDF music thread had some discussion about this album.
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...page=0&vc=1
Scroll down to the bottom.

SO, basically I feel exactly the same way as mbillie.
I saw "Hang Me Up To Dry" last summer on MTV late night. I was just really bored and flipping channels and was intrigued by the opening, hypnotic bassline. I thought, well I'll give MTV a shot to impress me. And for once, I LOVED something I saw on that channel. The song rocks with that kind of disjointed rhythm and the music video kicks ass too.

Then I dled the whole album and fell in love with it. Haven't been this excited for an album since Funeral and seriously I feel just like mbillie in that practically the only thing I've been listening to for the past 6 months is CWK. You can't help but want to listen to them all the time, and when I don't I have withdrawals.

The first 8 songs are like the strongest first 8 songs I've ever heard. I'll be on the metro with my ipod on and I will start with the intention of just listening to "We Used To Vacation" but then be drawn in and just listen to every song. Seriously, as an album as a whole, this thing is as solid as it can get. Must listen from start to finish.

Saw them at Bonnaroo in the summer and they rocked, they covered "A Change Is Gonna Come". I didn't even know they were gonna be at Rock en Seine but they were put on the bill last minute because Amy Winehouse was being a crackwhore, probably the best surprise of my summer. Saw them last week here in Paris, their set was short but solid. Played some new songs that I was really digging.

This album is already in my top 5 favorite of all time and I cannot wait to see what they offer next. (Although I shouldn't get my hopes up too high, I just hope they're not like so many other bands who shoot their creative load all on their first album and really just run out of steam subsequently.)

Just search on youtube, watch everything.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

I just listened to the whole thing, I wasn't overly impressed, I would say that I liked it but it wasn't a religious experience or anything.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

saw them live this summer, they have a few good songs but definitely not all of them

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

Confirmed, saw them live in Philly, they are awesome.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

I listened to the one song and I liked it.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

We used to vacation is amazing. They are coming to 9:30 club soon, can't wait.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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I listened to the one song and I liked it.

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me too. Pretty good. Although your review made me not want to like it, because it's pretty private-jokerish.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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I listened to the one song and I liked it.

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me too. Pretty good. Although your review made me not want to like it, because it's pretty private-jokerish.

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Mod please retitle thread "OMG OMG WTF OMG OMG OMG COLD WAR KIDS FOR BEST EVAAAA LDO!!!!!!!!!"

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

They are one of the best bands in the 'Commercial Indie' genre.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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They are one of the best bands in the 'Commercial Indie' genre.

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sigh

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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They are one of the best bands in the 'Commercial Indie' genre.

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sigh

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I said that half jokingly...but you can't deny it.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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They are one of the best bands in the 'Commercial Indie' genre.

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neither of those things is a genre. "heavy" or "soft" or "acoustic" or whatnot are words that describe a type of music. "commercial" and "indie" just describe popularity. I reject on principle the idea of an "indie" genre and refuse to classify bands I like into it. so there.

edit: I obv know you're joking, but still... so many people say "I like indie music", like... you like unpopular music? that's your criterion for determining whether or not you like it?

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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They are one of the best bands in the 'Commercial Indie' genre.

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neither of those things is a genre. "heavy" or "soft" or "acoustic" or whatnot are words that describe a type of music. "commercial" and "indie" just describe popularity. I reject on principle the idea of an "indie" genre and refuse to classify bands I like into it. so there.

edit: I obv know you're joking, but still... so many people say "I like indie music", like... you like unpopular music? that's your criterion for determining whether or not you like it?

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Well, actually indie music can be classified into a genre due to several general characteristics it has that help distinguish it from other forms of music. This was especially true when indie just started to emerge. These days, due to the fact that indie encompasses such a wide variety of music (chamber, folk, country, etc. etc.), it's general classification has definetely lost some of its weight. But in terms of the specific types of indie music, they absolutely can be classified as genres based on the specific musical characteristics they entail.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
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They are one of the best bands in the 'Commercial Indie' genre.

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neither of those things is a genre. "heavy" or "soft" or "acoustic" or whatnot are words that describe a type of music. "commercial" and "indie" just describe popularity. I reject on principle the idea of an "indie" genre and refuse to classify bands I like into it. so there.

edit: I obv know you're joking, but still... so many people say "I like indie music", like... you like unpopular music? that's your criterion for determining whether or not you like it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, actually indie music can be classified into a genre due to several characteristics it generally has than help make it distinct from other forms of music. This was especially true when indie just started to emerge. These days, due to the fact that indie encompasses such a wide variety of music (chamber, folk, country, etc. etc.), it's general classification has definetely lost some of its weight. But in terms of the specific types of indie music, they absolutely can be classified as genres based on the specific musical characteristics they contain.

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right, but "indie" as a term isn't indicative of any of those differences, i guess that's my point. "indie" just means "independent" which means any non-major-label band. i just hate it basically, there's no convincing me otherwise, although i acknowledge your point.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

I heard "Hang Me Up" many months ago and couldn't stop playing the track on my Rhapsody over and over. Then I heard the Hospital Beds song and that one went into heavy rotation. Sadly, the rest of the album is not as good.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

I really liked Hang Me Up to Dry, but was scared to listen to anything else. My instincts tell me that they're one of those gimmicky, MTV indie bands, if you get what I'm saying. Think The Bravery, or that band that kind of sounds like The Killers, or The Killers, too, I guess.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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I really liked Hang Me Up to Dry, but was scared to listen to anything else. My instincts tell me that they're one of those gimmicky, MTV indie bands, if you get what I'm saying. Think The Bravery, or that band that kind of sounds like The Killers, or The Killers, too, I guess.

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Um, ok. Or you could try listening to another song like a human.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

Old St John is actually my favorite track, then hospital beds, then we used to vacation...

whole CD is good though, I have 2 tickets to these guys at the TLA in philadelphia and I can't go bc I'm travelling, pm if interested

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

I listen to 90% rap music but I love this album.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

I watched the linked youtube video. didnt like them

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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I'm surprised more people here have never heard the CWK before.

They are a really excellent band that has a pretty unique sound. Definitely one of the better new bands around.

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Has anyone seen them live? They are coming to Philly next week and I'm tempted to chatch the show.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

They were incredibly awful on Conan. Otherwise, decent band... with some killer tunes.

Re: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
 

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I really liked Hang Me Up to Dry, but was scared to listen to anything else. My instincts tell me that they're one of those gimmicky, MTV indie bands, if you get what I'm saying. Think The Bravery, or that band that kind of sounds like The Killers, or The Killers, too, I guess.

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Um, ok. Or you could try listening to another song like a human.

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I listened to Hospital Beds and my suspicions were pretty much confirmed. It sounds really uninspired. Hang Me Up had the same vibe, but at least it had a good hook.

I'll listen to a couple more songs, but I won't get my hopes up.