Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty

Sometimes, you’ve got to give a little credit for trying. On Loyalty to Loyalty, Cold War Kids try to build on their soulful, everyman’s rock style previously heard on their middling 2006 debut Robbers & Cowards. There’s bits of experimentation, such as Relief, which borders on electro-pop, but other tracks stick closer to a more rigid formula. It works on stand-outs Something is Not Right With Me, a song with a stomping beat and piano that you might want to hear just before last orders, and the simple but atmospheric Every man I Fall For, which you might encounter as the pub closes. However, these more sparse numbers have the caveat of tolerating Nathan Willett’s squealing vocals, which many listeners may not. The true problem with Loyalty is not that it’s unlistenable, it’s that contemporaries such as the Raconteurs and The Hold Steady do the same thing in an ultimately more memorable way. [Jason Morton]