Coda.fm

Robbers & Cowards

by Cold War Kids

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You've heard at least three dozen bands like Cold War Kids already. Bands fascinated with the first Strokes album and bent on expanding the promise of that artistically ill-fated group; bands bent on delivering records that have a fresh take on life in suburbia but offering instead a minor variation of angsty clichés; bands that have quirky-but-catchy takes on songwriting; bands that try a little too hard. As unique as some of the ideas on Robbers and Cowards are, it doesn't take long before Nathan Willett's vocals begin to grate (even when he channels Jeff Buckley during "Passing the Hat") and the time between the initial excitement that swells with the opening cut "We Used to Vacation" and the moment you realize that Cold War Kids is just another mainstream band over-mining a once fertile underground sound is short enough that you can cut your losses and find something more worthwhile. --Jedd Beaudoin