Customer Reviews

Mine Is Yours

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For what was once an indie rock group, Cold War Kids now has a very commercial sound. And that's understandable, as the band currently records for one of the biggest companies around, Universal Music Group, as a part of their Interscope label. They've toured with Death Cab for Cutie and, on this CD, their third, worked with producer Jacquire King. King has helped to make successes of Modest Mouse and Kings of Leon, to whom the Kids bear more than a passing sonic resemblance.

Sounding slicker in the years since they released their first EPs is probably inevitable, but that's not necessarily a failing. There's always a market for well played, passionately sung, cleverly written songs with catchy melodic hooks. And these things "Mine Is Yours" has in spades. This music is less idiosyncratic and more mainstream than on previous releases, but it's an evolution rather than a complete change of pace. These are clearly the same fellows -- they've just matured and gotten more professional.

The title track sets the pace for the entire album. Like many of the songs on the CD, it's an anthemic blending of rock and Americana, starting quietly and building to a climax on the strength of insistent percussion, layers of guitars, and the ringing vocals of front man Nathan Willett.

The second track is the lead single, "Louder Than Ever," but it's the quirky third cut, "Royal Blue," that grabs me. It has an irresistible bass-driven beat and just as much radio-friendly potential as "Louder." The fourth song, "Finally Begin," is also enjoyable but more conventional, while the next two, "Out of the Wilderness" and "Skip the Charades," are among the strongest material on the album, adding emotional lyrics and haunting harmonies to the Kids' signature sound.

The song "Sensitive Kid" is not nearly as precious as its title suggests, with its jagged, pounding, boom-box rhythms and a resentful vocal reminding us that "sensitive kids start acting like a grown up." The eighth cut, "Bulldozer," starts tentatively and takes the longest of any on the album to swell to its U2-like climax -- but what a finish! Next is "Broken Open," which unfortunately sounds too much like other tracks on the album; nothing sets it apart or makes it particularly memorable for me. That's not to say it's a bad song; most pop groups would kill for anything half as resonant.

The CD winds up with "Cold Toes on the Cold Floor" and "Flying Upside Down," the former eccentric in both rhythm and subject matter, the latter growing from a pensive intro to a thrashing, wailing, wall-of-sound peak. The Kids throw the kitchen sink into this one, and it shows.

If you enjoy their associated groups and previous recordings, you'll find the Cold War Kids' newest release worthwhile. It's really grown on me. Considering the highs they reach, I can understand why it's hard to maintain the same levels of creativity or musical momentum throughout the full length of the album.

First off, I normally wouldn't bother to ever review an album, because I think reviews for music are largely worthless. I don't even read them normally for the same reason. I read the reviews for this album after I had bought it and listened to it for awhile because I was wondering if others felt like I did. Second, I'm not going to pretend that I'm some big Cold War Kids fan from way back when, because I'm not. I found them from an Amazon suggestion as a result of my browsing history. Normally these suggestions are hilariously terrible or something I already own, so I figured they would be horrible. The suggested album was for Robbers and Cowards, and I instantly liked what I heard. There was an interesting stop and go syncopation and it just was something NEW sounding. It was fun, lively music. So, when I saw mention of this album, I thought hey, I'll just buy it without listening, assuming there would be the same type of music, at least to some extent, that drew me in.

I'm all for evolution of sound, but this is bland. All of the things that made the other album new and fun to me have died on this one. The vocals have lost their distinctive perk and the rest of the music sounds like some bull$%*& adult contemporary garbage I'd hear at the grocery store. I normally pay a good deal of attention to lyrics, but this was so uninspiring I didn't bother; they may be good.

Buy this if you dig soft adult contemporary. It may be your cup of tea, but it certainly isn't mine.

some real winners on this album, but a little bit too much of a change from their original stuff for me to be comfortable. I needed to listen to it 4 times over before I felt like I could say I liked it. A little too much electronic and felt sorta 80's to me ... still a fan though.

Wow, this album is shockingly bad. I don't know what they changed, but Cold War kids have lost everything that made them interesting and gone with a much more polished, dare I say easy-listening sound with this album. Has there been a major line-up change? New producer? Whatever it is, it's terrible and has destroyed the band's sound. Even if you're a fan of the band, I'd pass on this album.

The reason why this isn't a 4 or 5 star review is because it doesn't sound like cold war kids anymore. I have it on vinyl and cd and the problem I came to discover is that the guitars aren't present enough. All I hear are drums and vocals. Not that the vocals are bad but seriously. The guy who mixed this ought to be shot. It needs more guitar. I have never felt this way about an album being a vocal performance major its usually been vocals that either make or break an album for me. So if i am noticing it, it must be lacking. I love the lyrics tho. And I wish that the lead singer would bring back more of his style.

Having read several music press reviews prior to purchasing this album, I expected to drop the metaphorical needle on this third full length release from the Cold War Kids and find myself subjected to yet another Kings of Leon release. Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and several other reviewers compared these Southern California boys latest effort to those Tennessee boys last record, and while both bands can be accused of occasionally dipping into tired rock cliches (the latter more than the former), I am happy to say that while "Yours is Mine" may be the band's most accessible effort, it undoubtedly sounds like a Cold War Kids album.

Chiming guitars, propulsive piano, a rhythm section churning the band forward without unnecessary clutter, and Nathan Willet's instantly recognizeable vocals are all here. Yes, some songs, including the mellow opener, start off with riffs and/or slowly building intros that are reminsicent of the stadium rocking anthems that Kings of Leon have made millions off of, but in true Cold War Kids fashion, all such musical preludes are soon abandoned for minor key musings and herky-jerky melodies that have come to define the band. "Louder than Ever" follows the forgettable opener (which is really the only lackluster track) with a melodic hook reminscent of the last EP's "Audience of One". "Royal Blue" and "Finally Begin" follow in similar fashion, mixing a pop sensibilty with the odd musical quirks that give the band its definitive sound while undermining that same pop sensibility.

While the album has its share of hooks, and contains often smart lyrics that you may find yourself quoting or singing to yourself once the album is finished, the parts fail to create a sum greater than its parts. "Robbers and Cowards" still stands as the band's masterpiece, and the ebb and flow that the band created with that album, with the slower songs balancing the aggression of the more over-the-top numbers, is not achieved here. While many found their second album to be a little too low key, this album may be a little too mid-tempo. Nothing really rocks, but then nothing really takes its time and wrings out your emotions either. There are some bright spots, without a doubt. "Sensitive Kid", which starts off with an odd eighties' electronic drum beat, hints at the accomplished storytelling that "We Used to Vacation" impressed us all with, while "Cold Toes on the Cold Floor" nearly captures the passion that the band brought to "Saint John". In both cases, however, the band sounds restrained, as if they are unwilling or no longer able to deliver the goods as effectively as they did on that first full length release.

Don't get me wrong- I like this album. I finish it and want to listen to it again, always discovering a smart lyric or musical hook I missed before. Yes, the music is slightly more "pop" than previous efforts, especially the underrated "Loyalty to Loyalty", but it is still undeniably the Cold War Kids. The band may be still looking for their true identity, and if so, as long as they keep making albums like this, the fans will be happy. Smart indie rock with a dose of pop- well worth the money.

An eternal question in the indie industry - keep doggedly pursuing your artistic vision, maybe one defined by jagged bursts of post-punk and a singer whose just as likely to veer into screeching wails as he is a soulful hum, or get together and make something perhaps more palatable for your average rock listener? It's not too hard to see on what side Mine Is Yours falls - producer Jacquire King, whose behind-the-boards work catapulted Kings of Leon from Southern rock also-rans to multi-platinum lords of radio, is on hand, and singer Nathan Willett is content to focus on "love and relationships" in his lyrical matter. Top 40 listeners have something against hearing about family-ruining alcoholics, I guess. But what the band and King bring to the table now, however, is a refreshing tendency to keep things focused. It's less a sacrifice to the gods of modern rock radio and more a bushwhacking of the Kids' frustrating proclivity to fly off the rails on previous albums. Not that there wasn't something charming about it all on Robbers & Cowards or Loyalty to Loyalty, but Mine Is Yours largely succeeds on keeping the Kids' songwriting strengths on track.

That songwriting, of course, is what separates Cold War Kids from your Neon Trees or your Saving Abel. From funk-inflected anthems ("Royal Blue") to U2-esque mammoth rockers with arena aspirations ("Bulldozer"), Cold War Kids always have an outstanding hook on hand. Mine Is Yours never comes off as a chore to listen to, as some of the latter half of their earlier work did. For all their aversion to taking even the slightest of risks, you can't help but admire the craftsmanship that went into a track like "Out of the Wilderness," where a gently lilting ballad coalesces into one of Willett's most fiery performances, buoyed by rolling drums and a bridge that frankly explodes. It's good that the songs here are so strong, because when it comes to Willett's lyrics, the MOR banality comes on a bit too strong. For a songwriter who was previously lauded for his ability to weave a tale, lyrics like "bulldozer clear a space for us / let's rebuild this love on what we were" are embarrassing, ham-fisted platitudes. It adds a bit of an asterisk to fantastic tracks like "Broken Open," where Willett engages in a conversation with a parking meter, but when the songs lift and soar like they more often than not do here, it's not hard to be a little forgiving. It just makes it even more of a shame when some of the best lyrics on the record in "Sensitive Kid" are sabotaged by a drum machine funk that is as out of place as it is unbecoming of Mine Is Yours' general direction.

So there's a give and take at work on Mine Is Yours, one that fans of their earlier work will either love or hate. That essential dichotomy between staying true to your roots and aiming for more widespread success has been the ruin of many bands, but Cold War Kids really don't give up too much here. Indeed, songs like hit-single-to-be "Louder Than Ever" and the thunderous climax of closer "Flying Upside Down" reveal a band that has always had the songwriting chops to stand out from their peers, one that perhaps just needed a steadying hand to realize it all over the course of an entire album. Something may have been lost in translation - there's nothing as immediate as "We Used To Vacation" or as heart wrenching as "Hospital Beds," and Willett truly seems to have thrown aside any artistic compunctions in his quest to write a lyric any ape could relate to. But Mine Is Yours is a great rock record through and through, and for a band to sit down and write eleven tunes that showcase the best of their bluesy, anthemic brand of indie with nary a misstep, well, there's an accomplishment to be praised.

I cant compare this album to any of CWK's previous because to be honest other than "Hang Me Out to Dry" I have not heard much else from them. I can say that I have given the album 2 full listens. I imagined the new Kings Of Leon intended to be something like this (Come Around Sundown) but fell short. Yours Is Mine is exactly what it sounds to be in its word play (whats yours is mine and whats mine is yours.) Its a relationship album and most of the songs deal with the hardships of a relationship - lyrically that is. A lot like KoL with the exception that Mine Is Yours isnt afraid to cut loose on many of its tracks. Though most are mellow with mild guitar rifts, its the other half that picks up its pace and deals CWK's full potential. Overall I gave the album a 4STAR due to it just being good music - Indie rock but better evolved.

I love Cold War Kids though, so I guess I have a biased opinion, but it is true to their style and everything, sucess!

This is the first album that I have by the Cold War Kids, but I must say that it is excellent. I am shocked that the other reviews aren't more positive. This is a very interesting, catchy, and unique album that has wonderful songs. I purchased the album mid-February, I have listened to it multiple times a week since then for the past nine months, and I am still not sick of it! I would highly recommend this album, and I look forward to the hearing the next one.