The Cold War Kids Albums Ranked
I’ve listened to almost every Cold War Kids album as they’ve released, past the group’s first two albums. And as I have, I’ve always walked away from listening to them going, “Oh, that was fine.” On the occasion of the band’s newest release, NEW AGE NORMS 1, I decided to revisit the Cold War Kids discography. And now I’ve walked away thinking, “Wow, what a tragic devolution of a band with such great debut promise.” Like, seriously, none of the group’s six subsequent albums come even close to the quality of ROBBERS & COWARDS. Spoiler, I guess. But the point has to be made that the bluesy, dark mysticism of the Cold War Kids slowly but surely transformed into U2/Coldplay arena rock malaise, with some good songs interspersed throughout the 13 years since the band’s full-length studio debut. This is a good point to mention that I won’t be considering the Cold War Kids’ EPs for the ranking of their seven “canonical” records. Let’s get into it.
EDIT 9/29/21: Added NEW AGE NORMS 2 and NEW AGE NORMS 3 to the list.
EDIT 11/7/23: Added COLD WAR KIDS to the list.
#10 — L.A. DIVINE (2017)
Favorite track: “No Reason to Run”
By the release of L.A. DIVINE, the Cold War Kids line-up had seen longtime/original members drop off to just leave frontman/singer Nathan Willett and bassist Matt Maust (along with new additions). I only mention it because L.A. DIVINE is the absolute nadir of the Cold War Kids’ career, a reflection of essentially a decade of what feels like a fight of confused identity. The band went from frantic yet pop-hook-laden blues-inspired rock to bland pop nonsense. As mentioned, some decent tracks still popped up on those regrettable records. But that wasn’t even the case on L.A. DIVINE, what feels like an attempt to capture…I don’t know, the audience that enjoys…Maroon 5? I really don’t know. “No Reason to Run” is the least boring song on the album.
#9 — LOYALTY TO LOYALTY (2008)
Favorite track: “Something Is Not Right with Me”
LOYALTY TO LOYALTY is kind of the definition of the sophomore slump. While not an entire departure from the sound of ROBBERS & COWARDS like everything else to come would be, the record went a bit wide with pop and even experimental leanings. Anyone who knows/has read me knows that I have no issue with pop; in fact, I really am a pop fiend. But the issue with the Cold War Kids’ descent into electronic haze is that it’s not even catchy, and in fact, LOYALTY TO LOYALTY is often quite frustrating. However. “Something Is Not Right with Me” is one of the Cold War Kids’ best songs, full stop, feeling like LOYALTY TO LOYALTY’s sole ode to the best of ROBBERS & COWARDS.
#8 — COLD WAR KIDS (2023)
Favorite track: “Empty Inside”
COLD WAR KIDS, the band’s tenth album for which they finally decided to go self-titled, blares out with the worst instincts the group has developed over the years. As my fiancée put it, “it sounds like they’re making music for car commercials.” And I would add, not even good car commercial music! But to be fair to this overall bothersome record, its back half picks up a bit to at least yield some more soulful tracks that, while never truly hearkening back to Cold War Kids’ brief yet impressive heyday, at least don’t sound like shit. COLD WAR KIDS’ relative advancement over other albums in the discography is entirely relative, as it’s about as much of a stinker as anything else in the bottom of this list.
#7 — MINE IS YOURS (2011)
Favorite track: “Sensitive Kid”
MINE IS YOURS was the first installment of the Cold War Kids’ mediocre milieu, and I believe it was even cited as specifically inspired by U2. Go figure. I don’t like U2. Nevertheless, MINE IS YOURS climbs ahead of L.A. DIVINE and LOYALTY TO LOYALTY because it is not devoid of a more powerful driving energy (missing from L.A. DIVINE) and it obtains a more consistent progression of track quality (unlike LOYALTY TO LOYALTY, the enjoyment of which varies quite widely from song to song)…even if that quality is not entirely up to snuff.
#6 — HOLD MY HOME (2014)
Favorite track: “Hold My Home”
HOLD MY HOME is still part of that mild yet grating progression that the Cold War Kids have undergone, but the songwriting present on the record is certainly stronger for the pop world. This is also a good time to mention that the band’s lyrical content, contributed by Willett, also degraded along with its sound. The dark Americana and third-person stories of ROBBERS & COWARDS devolved into “pat” first-person love/breakup/angst songs. But HOLD MY HOME, such as with “Harold Bloom,” gets away from that a bit. And although the title track clearly does not get away from the first-person (itself obviously not a problem for music at large, just an interesting deviation from what made the Cold War Kids so exciting initially), it very clearly stands out as the best song on the record.
#5 — NEW AGE NORMS 2 (2020)
Favorite track: “You Already Know”
The Cold War Kids’ NEW AGE NORMS trilogy, which released annually over the pre-COVID, peak COVID, and post-ish-COVID years, are not, I would say, a full “return to form.” The records are definitely in the pop vein of everything the band has done for the better part of a decade now, and parts of each of them rankle. That annoyance is most present on NEW AGE NORMS 2, which slips into a bit of grating pop groove at times. Otherwise, though, the album just wears the relatively shallow, fun sound well. “You Already Know” is a catchy song with some smart synths weaving in and out of the chorus, and its place after album starters “Who’s Gonna Love Me Now” and “Obsession” makes it the conclusion to a good little run. The reasons why I like NEW AGE NORMS 2 are not the reasons why I like my favorite Cold War Kids album, but in terms of reconstituting themselves into something else, the group has definitely done worse before.
#4 — DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS (2013)
Favorite track: “Miracle Mile”
This is the point on the list that the Cold War Kids discography becomes…I mean, good. DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS is the group’s “worst” album that is still enjoyable to listen to the whole way through. “Miracle Mile” is the band’s best pure pop track, and pulling it above “Lost That Easy” was actually a difficult prospect. The record’s most sentimental songs, too, resonate with more effectiveness than any other ballad-like song amid the weariness of the rest of the Cold War Kids’ discography.
#3 — NEW AGE NORMS 3 (2021)
Favorite track: “What You Say”
The conclusion to the NEW AGE NORMS albums hammers home a little disappointment within exciting new promise. When I wrote about 1 about two years ago, I hoped it was a harbinger of even better to come. While it tops 2, NEW AGE NORMS 3 still isn’t quite able to capture the surprise of 1, which in hindsight, was still relatively minor; minor, since it still isn’t really a full “comeback” era in the way I want. But this is kind of some hair-splitting, as NEW AGE NORMS 3 continues the trilogy’s attention to brevity (it runs just 29 minutes through eight songs) to great effect, focused as it is on bright, modern pop. There is a groove and funk to a song like “What You Say” that indicates, once again, that the Cold War Kids have something I want to listen to. Willett’s voice sounds great on the track as well. It makes sense that these songs are grouped together, even spread out as they are across three albums within a named series, because they cohere into a rejuvenated set for the band.
#2 — NEW AGE NORMS 1 (2019)
Favorite track: “Complainer”
The first in a planned trilogy of albums (presumably to be titled NEW AGE NORMS 2 and 3, I guess), NEW AGE NORMS 1 was a very pleasant surprise. Although I had mentioned that I had up until now generally walked away from a new Cold War Kids release with no overtly ill feelings, I did also have a general sense of a decrease in enjoyment every time. But NEW AGE NORMS 1, a brief, 29-minute, 8-track album, packs the pop power that has been totally missing from everything since ROBBERS & COWARDS besides, perhaps, DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS. NEW AGE NORMS 1 is not a perfect record by any means, but it is a joy to listen through, with no one single track being a let down. Indeed, most of the songs are the exact opposite; “Complainer” is a lively, extremely catchy little track that, as the first on the album, heralds perhaps a new, much better era for the band.
#1 — ROBBERS & COWARDS (2006)
Favorite track: “We Used to Vacation”
And it would be about time, because as I have pretty much hammered home in this piece, it’s been a pretty disappointing 13 years since ROBBERS & COWARDS was released. I’ve referenced it a lot already, and as impressed as I was by NEW AGE NORMS 1, ROBBERS & COWARDS really is in a league of its own. Across 12 tracks, the Cold War Kids told a collective tale of darkness, imbuing folk/blues/rock with a modern accessibility and potent pop hooks. Picking just one favorite track from the record was a difficult task, but “We Used to Vacation” is the best embodiment of this sentiment. “Hang Me Up to Dry,” “Saint John,” and “Hospital Beds” cannot go without singular (plural) praise. They, along with the rest of ROBBERS & COWARDS, implicated the Cold War Kids as a bold, new group. As chronicled, that boldness dwindled fast. The cool thing about art, though, is that ROBBERS & COWARDS is made no less enjoyable by, like, L.A. DIVINE.
