Cold War Kids
Nov 22, 2010
For the new album, Mine is Yours, slated for release on January 25, 2011, via Downtown Records, Cold War Kids, frontman Nathan Willett, drummer Matt Aveiro, bassist Matt Maust, and guitarist Jonnie Russell, upgraded to high-end studios in Nashville and Los Angeles. All the music was written entirely by the band without any outside influence and the 11-track album was produced by Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Norah Jones, Modest Mouse).
While they'd recorded their previous efforts over just a few days, Cold War Kids labored over every detail of Mine Is Yours' 11 songs for over three months, layering and overdubbing multiple tracks to reach their ideal sound. "We really strapped down and wrote songs that are more ornate and intricate than anything we've done before, while also refining and capturing the wildness of our live shows," Willett explains.
Mine Is Yours also finds Willett exploring new territory lyrically. Their first two releases, 2006's Robbers & Cowards and 2008's Loyalty to Loyalty, were "very character driven," says Willett, but the upcoming effort "speaks for me."
The recently married Willett, was inspired by avant-garde film director, actor, and producer John Cassavetes to explore the complexities of his relationship. "[Cassavetes] emphasized that there's nothing more interesting than a relationship between two people," says Willett. "His [1974] movie A Woman Under the Influence really hit me. It made me want write songs about the simple struggles between a man and woman."
Among those songs is "Skip the Charades," which is based on "the idea of using charades in a relationships" and "relationships being very theatrical," explains Willett while rattling off a verse over the phone from his Long Beach home: "Let's skip the charades / You're seeing right through me anyway / Can we just speak plain? / We're playing for the same team / I'm the one that's acting like I'm so strong / You're the one that's acting like nothing's wrong."
"Bulldozer," meanwhile, is about "plowing over a relationship to start over again on fresh soil," he says. "For where I'm at in my life, in my thirties and still living around some of the friends that I went to college with, I'm seeing people grow up; they aren't young anymore. People get married and divorced in such a short time now. They get hardened. It's about friends of mine that haven't been able to work it out, but it ends on a positive note."
The first single, "Louder Than Ever" is now impacting Alternative.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
December
- 2 Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater
- 3 Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre
- 4 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
- 6 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
- 7 Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm
- 10 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theater
- 11 Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall