My Amazon Reviews: Cold War Kids "Hold My Home"

Adult Kids
4 Out Of 5 Stars

The Cold War Kids have hit their stride, since "Mine Is Yours" and "Dear Miss Lonely Hearts." On the new (2014) "Hold My Home," they continue their streak of mainstream alternative albums. The album starts off strong, with three killer tracks, where the band embraces their inner U2 and shoot for the stadiums. "All This Could Be Yours" ("All That You Can't Leave Behind," anyone?) really has echoes of Bono and the boys. They are also literal types, where "Hot Coals" begs the question "whatever happened to the strong and silent type?" And to put the point into proper perspective, there's "Harold Bloom." He's an American literary critic and Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University (thanks Wikipedia).

"Can you be wise if you never leave the room?
There will always be another Harold Bloom
to criticize your every move."

Yes, the Kids have some fight in them. "Hotel Anywhere" looks at the process of achieving your goals, with lead vocalist Nathan Willett's call that he writes and paints, lives and breathes and "it's incredible how little I need." They also have grown braver with the stylistic choices, with the finale, "Hear My Baby Call" approximating a blues groove. With the diversity of music but clarity of purpose, "Hold My Home" is another solid effort from the Cold War Kids.

     

My Amazon Reviews: The Decemberists “What a Terrible World, What a Wonderful World”

What a Beautiful World We Live In
4 Out Of 5 Stars

After pounding out an R.E.M. sound-alike in 2011 in the form of "The King Is Dead," The Decemberists back up a bit for the more middle of the road "What A Terrible World, What A Wonderful World." There are some subtle changes, like heavier strings and horn charts, which are good. The band that crafted CD long suites now starts off an album with a song where the band apologizes for making a commercial for Axe Shampoo ("The Singer Addresses His Audience"). They know they aren't the same band that cut the masterful "The Crane Wife," and openly admit such.

What they are for "What a Terrible World..." are a crafter of songs. They've found a sweet spot between the ornate structure of those early albums to a sense of pop melody. It makes a love song like "Philomenia" all the more jaunty and "Lake Song" a hip folkie haunter. The band also sound more integrated this time around, where "The King Is Dead" was a showcase for Chris Funk, here, piano dominates many of the songs. Me. I kind of like when they get into that folk vein, as one of my favorites here - Colin Malloy almost making a sea shanty song out of "Better Not Wake The Baby."

"What a Terrible World..." will probably polarize fans who can't get over the fact that the band hit an early peak and then decided to try other things. As for me, I can respect that The Decemberists are not content to stay in one place for every album. Maybe they still aspire to be R.E.M. or even 10,000 Maniacs (some of the poetic lyrics recall the Maniacs'). What ever direction they travel, I am happy to follow as long as the music is this good.