|
| Robbers & Cowards | 
 enlarge | Artist: Cold War Kids
Label: Downtown
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy New: $7.95
You Save: $6.03 (43%)
New (44) Used (15) from $3.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 4328
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 70009
UPC: 878037000924
EAN: 0878037000924
ASIN: B000I2IRDC
Release Date: October 10, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Factory sealed!! Very small notch in side of jewel case.
|
| Tracks:
| • | We Used To Vacation | | • | Hang Me Up To Dry | | • | Tell Me In The Morning | | • | Hair Down | | • | Passing The Hat | | • | Saint John | | • | Robbers | | • | Hospital Beds | | • | Pregnant | | • | Red Wine, Success! | | • | God, Make Up Your Mind | | • | Rubidoux |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
You've heard at least three dozen bands like Cold War Kids already. Bands fascinated with the first Strokes album and bent on expanding the promise of that artistically ill-fated group; bands bent on delivering records that have a fresh take on life in suburbia but offering instead a minor variation of angsty cliches; bands that have quirky-but-catchy takes on songwriting; bands that try a little too hard. As unique as some of the ideas on Robbers and Cowards are, it doesn't take long before Nathan Willett's vocals begin to grate (even when he channels Jeff Buckley during "Passing the Hat") and the time between the initial excitement that swells with the opening cut "We Used to Vacation" and the moment you realize that Cold War Kids is just another mainstream band over-mining a once fertile underground sound is short enough that you can cut your losses and find something more worthwhile. --Jedd Beaudoin
Album Description
This LA band has toured nationally with Two Gallants, Tapes 'N Tapes, Sound Team, and done Lollapalooza dates. They're known for their electric live shows and major publications have already taken notice, with coverage in Spin and a 4-star review in Rolling Stone. "A gorgeous piece of geek-rock soul...Bravo, kids!" - Rolling Stone. "Imagine the rawness of The White Stripes on day one. Or what Spoon would sound like at a church camp making music with found objects" - LA Weekly.
Album Description
Japanese pressing of their debut album includes three bonus tracks, 'Expensive Tastes', 'In Harmony In Silver' and 'Quiet Please!'. V2. 2007.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
 Gotta hand it to the Kids November 3, 2006
29 out of 35 found this review helpful
Hype is a funny thing...it makes people dislike bands before they even hear them. How anyone could not like something they never heard is a strange thought, but whats even stranger, is that even after people hear it, they still may not like it, even if they should....whatever circumstance you are coming from, you should like the Cold War Kids...
They are fun, brash, honest and creative. They are sincere and seem like a bunch of guys who are really having a good time. That is what rock and roll is supposed to be about. They play scathingly good live shows, bouncing around on stage and singing with vocal cords stretched to the limit. And they write the damn catchiest songs. The songs are inventive without having to be orchestral or using a catologue of quirky instruments. Instead it is stripped down. Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano, Voice and some goddamn Soul. These Kids are bringing the soul back into the music. The singer channels Ornette Coleman and Nina Simones bastard child, and the band shambles along with a bluesy take on the Velvet Underground via Rolling Stones style rock and roll. A little slacker, a little swagger and a lot of Soul. A+++ in my book. and like I said, a GREAT live band...
 Good, but... December 30, 2006
17 out of 23 found this review helpful
Ok, first off, I'm 17, and am not a kid. I just didn't want to create a profile, or sign up here. Anyway, on to the review. I purchased this CD for about $12.00 from Best Buy about 4 days ago, on a whim, more or less. I had never heard of them before, but two things caught my interest: A) The cover art. As I'm really interested in art, specifically in music, such as merch & album covers, I liked it. B) The sticker on it which had a quote from a review which said "echoes the likes of Tom Waits and the Pogues". As a big fan of the Pogues, and a HUGE fan of Tom Waits, that hooked me totally. Usually, trusting those labels, and trusting hype, isn't a good thing, but in my case, with other CDs, it's never steered me wrong. Guess there's a first time for everything. The first two tracks are great, and the second, Hang Me Up to Dry, being my favorite on the CD. But after that, things started to go downhill, for me. The songs are good, but many don't seem to even have a chorus, and if they do, it's a mild one, with little build-up. A lack of direction is another problem, at times. After a while of listening to it, I realized that this band sounds NOTHING at all like Tom Waits, OR the Pogues! I can hear a *bit* of a Tom Waits influence in the first track, and in "Hospital Beds" (which, I must say, is actually a really good song), but other than that, nothing. I'd say the sound here is closer to the White Stripes or the Strokes, two bands which I've never been a big fan of. All in all though, I'd say this is a *good* CD, not "really good", and definatley not "great" but still, Cold War Kids are obviously a band who work hard, and put their hearts into what they do, and for that I applaud them. I can definatley see them getting better with time, and who knows, maybe their next albums, or albums to come, will be better. I can almost assure they will. After all, My Chemical Romance made the cringe-inducing "3 Cheers for Sweet Revenge", and then made the wonderful "Welcome to the Black Parade". So musical evolution is always a possibility, and I can without a doubt seeing the Cold War Kids evolve, and go on to bigger, better things. I'd say this CD, really, deserves a 3 & 1/2 stars rating, not just 3. So go ahead and buy it, if band like the White Stripes and the Black Keys are your thing, but be careful. And don't buy it cause some review quote told you it sounded like a great Irish band and a musical genius. So again, buy it, if you like, but only if you're totally sure.
That amazon reviewer could not be MORE WRONG... March 4, 2007
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
The final straw in deciding to write this review of the Cold War Kids latest album was the perfunctory and diminuitive review offered by the staff writer for amazon.com
It is interesting to note that the customers' reviews (ie. "average listener who doesn't get paid to write") are made up entirely of 5 star ratings.
This pattern should be at least somewhat instructive as to the quality of the "Robbers and Cowards" LP.
The Cold War Kid have completed the rare major debut "hat trick" that includes the following three qualities:
1. Powerful lyrics that tell amazing stories. (Think Bruce Springsteen, or to a lesser extent, Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows - those who craft songs that are clearly personal in some of their details but become universal in the emotions they express.)
2. Some of the catchiest choruses in high-brow indie rock since Death Cab for Cutie. These songs hook you from the first listen and actually get better the more you play them.
3. The skills to perform great live shows. Listen to their performance in SOHO for Apple (available on iTunes). These guys are musicians of the highest order and the lead vocals are strikingly powerful from top to bottom. I'm going to do a bit of driving to see them for myself when they come near my hometown.
This cd is my favorite of the year (pulling even with my favorite from last year, TV on the Radio's "Return to Cookie Mountain.)
I hope you enjoy it as well.
- S.
What is going on? June 18, 2007
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I've never written a review on Amazon, but I feel compelled in this case. People are comparing Cold War Kids to Maroon 5? The Strokes? Do these people listen to music they're not told to? Sure, Maroon 5 adds a touch of soul to pop and The Strokes are a great band that relies on catchy '80's-style hooks, but CWK is something else entirely. They're rock first, with a Mississippi Delta influence.
The lyrics are unique in that they tell of the human condition, although not necessarily first hand. Wonderful music combined with touching lyrics equals a great band.
They are indeed one of the best live bands around, as I discovered them opening for Editors at The Fillmore, but the sound translates perfectly to home.
Maybe you don't dig the sound, but comparing them to some other random band doesn't make any sense. They have a style that might not be completely original, as Delta Spirit and a few other bands are of the same vein, but CWK does it the best, and with the most feeling.
Jedd Beaudoin doesn't deserve his job. December 24, 2006
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Music attracts me in different ways. For instance I listen to Broken Social Scene when i'm feeling like I want to drift away to somewhere else. There are certain things that catch my ear that makes me like a band. One is the lyrics of course, which I haven't listened to this album enough to rate. But, another is catchyness, and these guys have it. Every song is so different from music that's out there right now. And it's so raw sounding.. And these know-it-all critics who have their own agenda and can't see what the music is for what it is really disturb me.. It's like there's one thing that turns you off about Cold War Kids, and you feel the need to dwell on it and rip them apart for it. The point is they have talent and the music is great to listen to. Isn't that the point? Buy this album, give it a chance, and you won't regret it.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
