Check this post out on my new music Medium page the Ramble.
Cold War Kids have been one of my favorite bands since I first started listening to them in 2007. I’ve anticipated the release of each of their new albums, and even when an album has disappointed me a bit, they still have redeeming qualities because CWK is such a brilliant band.
So, I decided to do something a little extreme: rank every single Cold War Kids song. Yes, every single one. From the EPs to albums to one-off tracks to bonus tracks. This is quite an undertaking and I’m sure I will get some of these wrong. So, please, tell me which ones I got wrong, which ones I got right, and if I forgot any.
I didn’t include any side projects, like French Style Furs’ Is Exotic Bait, which did have some excellent songs and started my years-long fascination with Thomas Merton.
The Throwaways
These are the songs I skip every time they come up on shuffle. Listen, even the Rolling Stones had some bad songs. It’s part of being an artist.
106. “Pregnant” — Robbers & Cowards
105. “God, Make Up Your Mind” — Robbers & Cowards
104. “Baby Boy” — Behave Yourself
103. “Avalanche In B” — Loyalty to Loyalty
102. “On The Night My Love Broke Through” — Loyalty to Loyalty
101. “Wilshire Protest” — LA Divine
100. “Portuguese Bend” — Five Quick Cuts“Sensitive Kid” — Mine Is Yours
99. “Cryptomnesia” — Loyalty to Loyalty
98. “LA River” — LA Divine
97. “Golden Gate Jumpers” — Loyalty to Loyalty
96. “Red Wine, Success” — Robbers & Cowards
95. “Cameras Always On” — LA Divine
94. “Something Is Not Right With Me” — Loyalty to Loyalty
Plucked Too Soon
These songs have some redeeming qualities, but probably could have benefited from more time in the studio or some other change. I don’t skip these every time, but they are rarely my choice to listen to.
93. “Tell Me In The Morning” — Robbers & Cowards
92. “Portuguese Bend” — Five Quick Cuts
91. “Robbers” — Robbers & Cowards
90. “Finally Begin” — Mine Is Yours
89. “Locker Room Talk” — Single
88. “Skip The Charades” — Mine Is Yours
87. “1X1″ — Single
86. “Out of the Wilderness” — Mine Is Yours
85. “Broken Open” — Mines Is Yours
84. “Welcome To The Occupation” — Loyalty to Loyalty
83. “Flying Upside Down” — Mine Is Yours
82. “Pine St.” — Tuxedos EP
81. “Free to Breathe” — LA Divine
80. “Hair Down” — Robbers & Cowards
79. “In Harmony In Silver” — This Will All Blow Over In Time
Worth Multiple Listens
Many of these songs are acquired tastes. If you like CWK then you should give these a few listens before truly appreciating them,
78. “Rubidoux” — Robbers & Cowards
If you stick around after the end of this song, you can hear the demo for “Sermons” which actually makes this song even better.
77. “Mine Is Yours” — Mine Is Yours
76. “Against Privacy” — Loyalty to Loyalty
75. “Relief” — Loyalty to Loyalty
74. “Aeon” — Tuxedos EP
73. “Dear Miss Lonelyhearts” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
72. “Love on the Brain” — Los Feliz Blvd
71. “Opium Tea” — This Will All Blow Over In Time
70. “Harold Bloom” — Hold My Home
69. “Open Up the Heavens” — LA Divine
68. “Invincible” — LA Divine
67. “Dreams Old Men Dream” — Loyalty to Loyalty
66. “Coffee Spoon” — Behave Yourself
65. “No Reason to Run” — LA Divine
64. “Expensive Tastes” — Live From Fingerprints
63. “Bitter Poem” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
62. “Tricky Devil” — New Age Norms 1
Solid Tracks
Every one of these is a good song, just not the best that CWK has to offer. Definitely worth listening to whenever they come up.
61. “Bulldozer” — Mine Is Yours
60. “Luck Down” — LA Divine
59. “One Song At A Time” — Five Quick Cuts
58. “Don’t Look Down On Me (Bonus Track)” — Mine Is Yours
57. “Every Man I Fall For” — Loyalty to Loyalty
I never appreciated this song until I saw them play it live. It took the passion of a live performance for me to really understand what the song was about.
56. “A Million Eyes (From Stella Artois — The Chalice Symphony)” — Single
55. “Minimum Day” — Single
54. “Part of the Night” — LA Divine
53. “Fear & Trembling” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
52. “Hear My Baby Call” — Hold My Home
51. “Nights & Weekends” — Hold My Home
50. “Stop/Rewind” — Five Quick Cuts
49. “Calm Your Nerves” — New Age Norms 1
48. “Water & Power” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
47. “Ordinary Idols” — LA Divine
46. “Amazing” — Five Quick Cuts
45. “You Don’t Come Through” — Tuxedos EP
44. “Cold Toes On The Cold Floor” — Mine Is Yours
43. “Quiet, Please” — The Paradiso Sessions
42. “Dirt in My Eyes” — New Age Norms 1
41. “Santa Ana Winds” — Behave Yourself
40. “Flower Drum Song” — Hold My Home
39. “4th of July” — New Age Norms
Hitting Their Stride
We are nearing perfection, but not there yet. These are great songs, just not the absolute best that CWK has to offer. If these were the best songs that the band had ever released they would still be one of the best indie bands of the last decade. Yet, they get even better after these.
38. “Passing The Hat” — Robbers & Cowards
37. “Hold My Home” — Hold My Home
36. “Thunderhearts” — Five Quick Cuts
35. “Go Quietly” — Hold My Home
34. “Fine Fine Fine” — New Age Norms 1
33. “A Change Is Gonna Come” — The Paradiso Sessions
32. “Drive Desperate” — Hold My Home
31. “Hear My Baby Call” — Hold My Home
30. “Waiting for Your Love” — New Age Norms 1
29. “Loner Phase” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
28. “Hot Coals” — Hold My Home
27. “Lost That Easy” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
26. “Romance Languages #2” — Tuxedos EP
25. “Sermons” — Behave Yourself
24. “Hotel Anywhere” — Hold My Home
23. “Jailbirds” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
22. “Mexican Dogs” — Loyalty to Loyalty
21. “Complainer” — New Age Norms 1
Best of the Best
These songs are perfect. They are uniquely Cold War Kids, with deep lyrics, Nathan Willet’s signature voice, and are easy to listen to over and over and over again.
20. “Beyond the Pale” — New Age Norms 1
19. “Louder Than Ever” — Mine Is Yours
18. “Goodnight, Tennessee (Bonus Track)” — Mine Is Yours
17. “Love Is Mystical” — LA Divine
16. “Lost That Easy” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
15. “Bottled Affection” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
14. “I’ve Seen Enough” — Loyalty to Loyalty
13. “Can We Hang On?” — LA Divine
12. “Audience Of One” — Behave Yourself
The Behave Yourself EP was made up of songs that CWK never put on an album, but had been playing live for years. To me, this EP is a perfect little capsule of what makes CWK great. “Audience” is by far the best song on the EP. It was my ringtone for like five years.
11. “Romance Languages #1” — This Will All Blow Over In Time
I really have no idea why this song took so long to be released. CWK released “Romance Languages #2” on the Tuxedos EP in 2013, but #1 didn’t see the light of day until 2019. This is, of course, assuming that CWK wasn’t being cheeky by giving the songs out-of-order numbers. “Romance Languages #1” is a much more full-fledged song with a steel drum and a driving bass line. It’s got a feel that’s unlink any other CWK song.
10. “Royal Blue” — Mine Is Yours
For me, Mine Is Yours was kind of disappointing. The band spent too many songs trying to hit the Alternative Charts. They got away from what they do best. But “Royal Blue” is an example of what they do best. Many of the other songs on the album could have been done by any number of indie/alt rock bands. But “Royal Blue” could only have been done by CWK.
“I guess I’ve always been a bit of a fighter.”
9. “So Tied Up” — LA Divine
The best song off of LA Divine, it actually was improved upon with a second release that included more of the powerful vocals of Bishop Briggs (aptly titled “So Tied Up — moreBishop”). The thumping drums mixed with the jaunty piano drive the song and Nathan Willet’s voice was made to be paired with a strong female vocalist like Briggs. CWK doesn’t collaborate much, but this one is perfect.
8. “Saint John” — Robbers & Cowards
Oh man…what a tune. It’s a song about a black man who killed his sister’s would-be rapist and is now on Death Row. Willet half sings half raps this heartbreaking tale. But, more than the lyrics, the slow, grooving bass coupled with the crashing symbols and the tambourine are the only instruments even used until the piano comes in at the end. It’s a sparse arrangement, telling a tale of a man stuck in a sparse cell.
7. “Miracle Mile” — Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
After the disappointment that was Mine Is Yours, CWK could have gone a number of different directions. They could have tried again with the attempts at mainstream success, they could have gone off the deep-end of artistic expression and strangeness, or they could have come out with “Miracle Mile.” Fortunately, they delivered this shot across the bow as their first single off of Dear Miss Lonelyhearts. This song rescued the band and set them on the course that they are on now. It’s a frenetic, piano-driven song showcasing the best that CWK has to offer.
6. “All This Could Be Yours” — Hold My Home
Following up the success of Dear Miss Lonelyhearts was difficult and I was nervous that they might not do it. Then, they released “All This Could Be Yours” and I realized that they’d finally found the formula for consistency that they’d been seeking in their music.
5. “First” — Hold My Home
To date, this is CWK’s highest charting single, and for good reason. It’s definitely the most mainstream song they’ve ever released, but it’s still very much a CWK song. You’ve heard this one on commercials, in TV shows, and probably in movies. It’s a soaring anthem even though the lyrics are telling the story of a person spiraling out of control. As part of This Will All Blow Over In Time they released the demo of “First” and I might like that even better. It’s more stripped down, less soaring and anthemic. It’s great.
4. “We Used To Vacation” — Robbers & Cowards
I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard a song where the music and lyrics so perfectly capture a mood. This song tells the story of an alcoholic father coming to grips with the destruction he’s caused to his family.
The lyrics are biting: “I promised to my wife and children/I’d never touch another drink as long as I live/But even then it sounds so soothing/To mix a gin and sink into oblivion.”
The music is, at times, uncomfortable, with the shaker in the background, the dissonant chords being smashed on the piano, and the crashing symbols. Seeing this song performed live is a treat.
3. “Fashionable (Bonus Track)” — Mine Is Yours
For some reason, a couple of my favorite songs on Mine Is Yours are the bonus tracks. This strange song is a long one and it starts out very simple and quiet. It’s just about a woman and the simplicity of a black dress, but it begins to swell and eventually Willett is asking the question “Who will sweep you off your feet?” over and over again. It’s hard to describe exactly what I love about this song, but I think it’s great.
2. “Hang Me Up To Dry” — Robbers and Cowards
This is where it all got started for CWK. The song that would take them to late night shows, win them early critical notice, and get their first album off the ground. You’ve definitely heard this one through the years.
1. “Hospital Beds” — Robbers & Cowards
This song takes me back to high school, riding around in my friend’s car. See, she was the one person we knew that was cool enough to go to Austin City Limits and she came back raving about this band. I’d already heard “Hang Me Up To Dry” but when she played “Hospital Beds” for us, I knew that this band was special. This unique, piano-driven song changed the way I listened to music forever. I was fully into this band, and now more than a decade later, I still am. Thanks Brynn, I’m glad you got to go to ACL. I still haven’t made it.
Scott Bedgood 