Cold War Kids: Behave Yourself E.P

It's fair to say that both of Cold War Kids' full-length releases - 2006's 'Robbers & Cowards' and 2008's 'Loyalty To Loyalty' - took some getting used to.

Front-man Nathan Willett's vocals takes the 'Marmite syndrome' to another level, their drastic indie-rock persona initially dug deep under the skin while the overuse of their compositions in any and every advertisement over the years definitely tarnished their credibility as a serious musical collective. 

However, the bigger the chance you give them and the longer you spend with their material, the more it unravels into something different entirely. We openly admit our introductory foibles with both their previous studio records but we can safely say that now, with time and patience, they're actually... well, pretty great. So, two years after their sophomore album, we're given a short glimpse of the bands future in the form of this very E.P here; the Behave Yourself EP. Oddly enough, the mini-album's title is surprisingly more accurate than we expected. Let us explain a little further.

This is Cold War Kids maturing, growing-up or 'behaving' if you will. They're slowing down their often abrasive, often emotional indie-drama and instead creating a more melodic, more accessible personality that doesn't necessarily stray miles from their previous sound but most definitely manoeuvres their style into less frantic territory.

We begin with "Audience", possibly their most approachable number to date. That usually spells disaster for respectably independent bands but "CWC" manage to pull it of with aplomb. The backing croons, the disparate percussions, beautifully warming melody, strong vocals and catchy atmosphere coagulate as one, forming a hardened, near-flawless introduction as well as an extremely elevated standard for everything that follows. Luckily though, we're dealing with a band that now seem completely settled with themselves and their vision of where to go next so thankfully, they stick to the impressively high quality throughout the brief fifteen minutes we spend with them.

They seem to possess a somewhat deft, yet ineffable ability to make everything sound so personal and cosy and yet mature and sensible all at once. "Coffee Spoon" pulses with a dampened guitar and twitching, simplistic drums that produces a sound unlike anyone but themselves. It flickers with emotion and mellowed ease, as if the music is making itself, not the musicians themselves. Hard to describe it may be, but you really have to hear it yourself to fully grasp what we're trying to convey. 

Next comes the unabashed E.P highlight "Santa Ana Winds" that soars with pride, building slowly from a gentle bass and piano introduction into restrained but powerful grandeur. Willett sounds at the top of his game and the same can be said for each of the remaining members, controlling their respective instruments like true professionals. Follow-up that with the slower effort and EP closer "Sermons" - which could've sat comfortably on both of their preceding full-lengths - and you've got an all too brief but highly promising snippet of a band ready to make one hell of a comeback.

We could have done with a little more material to help out the duration and we hope they've still retained their sharp edge for album number three but as of right now, we are more than content with what we've been given.