Song of the Day - October 23, 2006

The Cold War Kids full-length debut Robbers & Cowards is a stunner. Nathan Willet's vocals are attention getting, having been compared by some to Jeff Buckley. This quartet gives me the impression that they are British, but actually they hail from California. Earlier this year, I heard a little bit of their show at Lollapalooza, and I very much liked what I heard. Unfortunately at Lollapalooza, I was like a kid with ADD. The musical riches were so great, I was running from one show to the other, not always catching the full act. This album is full of great tracks. "Hospital Beds" is a wonderful tune, that brings the piano to the forefront of the track, but the star of this track is Willet's vocals. "Red Wine, Success!" is another tune that just seems to burrow into my skull. It has a slight dissonant flavor from the guitars, which reminded me of Gang of Four. Song of the day honors go to "Hang Me Up to Dry," which has a distinctly British sound to it and some cool funky guitar sounds that could have come from The Talking Heads. Click here to listen.