My Amazon Reviews: Cold War Kids "Mine is Yours"

Cold War Kids in a Grown Up World  
4 Out of 5 Stars

These guys used to be loud and gritty, even with the undertones of hidden anthems on their earlier albums. For their third full length album (and first for Geffen/Interscope) "Mine Is Yours," Cold War Kids drop all pretense towards indie-rock sound and go full charge for the areanas of the world. They've discovered their inner U2 and the ghost of Jeff Buckley as seeped in as well. They may have even caught a case of the Arcade Fires, while we're at it.

Which is to say that "Mine is Yours" aims at big targets and bold sounds, and mostly hits its marks. Singer Nathan Willett is a pretty soulful dude for a belter, which makes some of the more awkward lyrics (like "the crown on my head is heavy on me" from the otherwise great "Out of The Wilderness) sound positively inspirational, and when he gets the perfect match, he is. The title track and "Sensitive Kid" are polar opposites with the same effect; where the title track roars forth like a star climbing anthem, "Sensitive Kid" strips down to a slinky bass and piano drop ins to just grab you by the collar for a good shaking. Then, when they sneak back to their earlier, grittier blues sound on "Cold Toes on The Cold Floor," you understand that understated guitarist Jonnie Russell - who spends most of this album buried in producer Jaques King's reverb - is a coming axe-hero.

"Mine Os Yours" is going to fluster some of the Cold War Kids fans that will scream sell-out at A) Signing to Interscope and B) CWK's new-found sonic richness. To me, it's just a natural progression. "Mine Is Yours" is an unexpected surprise for me, and has slowly climbed into the upper reaches of my 2011 favorites.