Two years following the release of sophomoric slump album Loyalty to Loyalty, Long Beach quartet Cold War Kids have released their third album Mine is Yours. In dire need of a comeback from the previous flop, Cold War Kids has returned with an entirely new sound, a result of working with producer Jacquire King. King’s influence is evident as Mine is Yours fits right in with a shuffle playlist of Kings of Leon and Modest Mouse—the major difference being that you can actually sing along with CWK without looking/sounding like a complete idiot.
CWK have completely revamped their aesthetic, gleaning the original raw, rough edge sound that distinguished them and placed them in the same class as Spoon, The White Stripes and The Black Keys. Mine is Yours expands the band’s horizons with iridescent guitars and pummeling drums. Even the content is different, straying from the storytelling lyrics of earlier albums, turning to stokedonlife yet sometimes bruised lyrics that focus more on the love and hurt of relationships than alcoholism and hospitalization.
Mine is Yours requires a few runs through before you can really decide how you feel about it, simply because it deviates so much from the band’s previously established sound. Ultimately, the album is a success because though the band has masked much of what made it awesome in the first place, CWK did not lose its impact. The album is full-bodied as any with tracks like “Finally Begin, “Skip the Charades” and “Bulldozer” as potential singles.
The album’s namesake track is the kind of epically inspirational tune you’d picture in the turn of the third act of a romantic comedy (you know, when the main character charges down a busy street in Manhattan after his jilted lover, amidst honking taxis) but in a shockingly good way. Terrible analogy aside, the album is a testament of the band’s maturity. And though the sound may be quite different from anything CWK has put out thus far, this change should not be held against them. It’s polished and intentional without straying from the honesty that makes Cold War Kids, well, Cold War Kids.
-Witler
Tracklist
1. Mine is Yours
2. Louder Than Ever
3. Royal Blue
4. Finally Begin
5. Out of the Wilderness
6. Skip the Charades
7. Sensitive Kid
8.Bulldozer
9. Broken Open
10. Cold Toes On the Cold Floor
11. Flying Upside Down
12. Don’t Look Down On Me (Bonus Track)
13. Fashionable (Bonus Track)
