Cold War Kids are an American
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band from
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. Band members are Nathan Willett (vocals, piano, guitar), Matt Maust (bass guitar), David Quon (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Schwartz (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar, percussion), and
Joe Plummer (drums, percussion). Former members of the band include
Dann Gallucci (guitar, keyboards, percussion), Matt Aveiro (drums, percussion), and Jonnie Russell (guitar,
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
, piano, keyboards, percussion).
Forming in 2004 in
Fullerton, California
Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617.
Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...
, the Cold War Kids' early releases came from
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
Monarchy Music. In 2006, the band signed with
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
/
V2 and released their major label debut ''
Robbers & Cowards'' to cult appeal from fans and critics. 2008's ''
Loyalty to Loyalty'' and 2011's ''
Mine Is Yours'' saw the band develop different musical sounds and lyrical content throughout to mixed reviews. The band's seventh studio album, ''New Age Norms 1'', was released on November 1, 2019.
History
2004–2006: early years and ''Robbers & Cowards''

The members of Cold War Kids met at
Biola University
Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor' ...
.
They formed a band in 2004 when they would meet regularly in Jonnie Russell's apartment above a restaurant called Mulberry Street in downtown
Fullerton. Maust came up with the band's name around 1997, during his travels in Eastern Europe with his brother, where they found a park in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
with missing statues, taken away after Communism fell. Seeing that there was a playground in the park, Maust said "...being in that environment just made the phrase 'Cold War Kids' pop into my head. I may have heard it before. I'm a
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
kid, too – I was born in 1979."
Maust used the name for his personal website, but then he repurposed it after the band decided to use the name. The band relocated to
Whittier, California
Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...
, and began recording their first demo, which Monarchy Music released as the EP ''
Mulberry Street'' (based on the restaurant where they regularly met) in spring 2005. Between tours, the band released two more EPs: ''
With Our Wallets Full'' and ''
Up in Rags'', in 2006. Monarchy Music would re-release those EPs as one compilation album titled ''
Up in Rags/With Our Wallets Full'' in 2006.
In summer 2006, Cold War Kids signed with
Downtown Records and started work on their debut album. The album titled ''
Robbers & Cowards'' was released on October 10, 2006, with sales close to 200,000 copies.
Critics were impressed with the band's blues rock sound and lyrics that told morose tales of yesteryear: Joe Tacopino of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' said that "These ambitious youngsters are definitely worth the trip, even without the ostentatious vocal harmonies."
Jeff Weiss of
Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
called the album "
t'sa good debut, maybe even a very good one. Whether or not this band will achieve greatness remains anybody's guess."
One of the album's biggest detractors came from Marc Hogan of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'', who criticized the band for its songwriting, melodies, and Christian symbolism, saying that "''Robbers and Cowards'' insults our intelligence a few times too often."
Cat Dirt Sez of the ''
San Diego CityBeat'' said that Hogan's review was an example of lazy journalism, with lead guitarist Jonnie Russell saying that the reviewer wanted a wittier approach to the album rather than a thoughtful assessment of it.
2008: ''Loyalty to Loyalty''
After two years of non-stop worldwide touring and an eventual relocation to
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, Cold War Kids went back into the studio in spring 2008 with the producer of their first record, Kevin Augunas. Nathan described the record making process: "Throughout the record making process, we would write songs in our own little practice studio, then we'd go into the studio for, like, two days and record three or four songs, then go back into our own practice studio for, like, a few weeks. So really it was over the span of four months or something. Actual studio days probably like 15 days. We don't love being in a studio; we focus more on the writing."
Cold War Kids' second album, ''
Loyalty to Loyalty'', represented a departure from its debut, featuring a lot of narrative storytelling, as well as political and philosophical references. In an interview with
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, Nathan described the songwriting process for the album: "The choices that we make have always been organic ones, to try to grow at a rate that makes sense," Willett says. "Not necessarily talking about, 'Is there a great single? Is this a big breakthrough for us? Is this the next level for us?' But just write songs. Yeah, there is a stress, and the way we deal with it is to ignore it."
''Loyalty to Loyalty'' was released on September 23, 2008, to generally positive reviews from critics.
Bart Blasengame of ''
Paste'' called it "a better-than-solid album from a band that seemed equipped to someday make a classic one".
James McMahon of ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' said that "Almost in defiance of poor sales and cult following, CWK and their charming second album embody everything you hoped music might be."
2009–2011: ''Behave Yourself'' and ''Mine is Yours''
Cold War Kids spent the end of 2008 and most of 2009 on the road touring for ''Loyalty to Loyalty'', highlighted by a national tour with
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...
. In between touring, the band returned to the studio to record what would become their seventh EP, ''
Behave Yourself''. In an interview with ''Flavorwire'', Maust talked about the differences between this and ''Loyalty to Loyalty'': "It's basically the happier, more vibrant songs that didn't really fit on the
oyaltyalbum. We realized that in a way, we were starting to work ahead of ourselves, so this
Pworks as a nice bridge between records."
''Behave Yourself'' was released digitally on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
on December 21, 2009, and given a physical version on January 19, 2010.

Cold War Kids went back into the studio in February 2010. Willett, when speaking to ''
Filter Magazine'', said, "Album three is in the works now. We are working with a producer named
Jacquire King. He has a sweet and eclectic roster of
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members were lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock (musician), Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and ba ...
, the
last Norah Jones record,
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
'
Mule Variations,
the last Kings of Leon record...So, he is going to work miracles with us. All of our music has always been written entirely by us, without any influence, so to have him step in and help us with the direction is tremendous. I was just watching
the Wilco Documentary again, and I think that in many ways Wilco is to country/
Americana as Cold War Kids is to soul/
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
. We are taking what we do to the next level on this record. The EP is the final reminder of the good old days of quick and fun, minimal Cold War Kids recording."
''
Mine Is Yours'' was released on January 25, 2011, and garnered mixed reviews from critics.
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' said that "the band has emerged with a set that's more inviting than its first but just as catchy."
Sean O'Neal of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' said that the album has "the bland sound of a band trading identity for ambition".
Cold War Kids supported the album with a spring tour across North America
that included festival appearances at
Bonnaroo
Bonnaroo (or Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival) is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment.
Bonnaroo has taken place at what is now Great Stage Park, a 700-acre (280 ha) far ...
and
Coachella
Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...
.
In February 2012, the band announced that lead guitarist Jonnie Russell left the band for personal reasons.
2012–2015: ''Dear Miss Lonelyhearts'' and ''Hold My Home''
In January 2012, Cold War Kids announced that former Modest Mouse guitarist Dann Gallucci would take Russell's place in the band and premiere on their new single "Minimum Day".
On January 15, 2013, the band announced a new single, "Miracle Mile", for their fourth album, ''
Dear Miss Lonelyhearts''. The latter was released on April 2, 2013. They followed that up with an EP titled ''
Tuxedos'', released on September 17, 2013. They promoted both efforts with a U.S. headline tour that ended on November 6, 2013. In November 2013, they announced that a fifth album was in the works. On November 10, 2013, the
Orange County Register
''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...
reported that drummer Matt Aveiro had left the band, and that Modest Mouse drummer
Joe Plummer would be holding his place indefinitely.

In March 2014, Cold War Kids collaborated with
Belgian brewer
Stella Artois
Stella Artois ( , ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent Alcohol by volume, ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is sold in many EU countrie ...
and sonic inventor Andy Cavatorta for a project titled "Chalice Symphony" that involved using the brewer's famous drinking glasses as instruments for the band to use to record the track "A Million Eyes". The behind-the-scenes videos were used as commercials and were uploaded on the brewer's
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
page. The song was released on iTunes on March 3, 2014,
and the music video that went along with the track premiered on YouTube on April 4, 2014. In May 2014, Willett and Maust worked on a
side project
In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style.
Usually these projects emphasize ...
with
We Barbarians' Nathan Warkentin called French Style Furs. The project's debut album, ''Is Exotic Bait'', was released on July 8, 2014. The album was recorded with the assistance of
Nick Launay
Nicolas Launay (born 5 March 1960) is an English record producer, composer and recording engineer, currently residing in Los Angeles, CA. He is one of the most sought after record producers in the world due to his success with recent albums b ...
, and the lyrics used were adapted from the poetry of twentieth-century
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
monk and philosopher
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915December 10, 1968), religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, Christian mysticism, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. He was a monk in the Trapp ...
.
On July 15, 2014, Cold War Kids released the first single, "All This Could Be Yours", from their fifth album ''
Hold My Home'', which was released on October 21. The release of ''Hold My Home'' had drummer Joe Plummer and multi-instrumentalist/singer Matthew Schwartz being credited as proper members of the band on the album's liner notes as opposed to touring members as previously credited. The album also spawned the single "
First" in February 2015. Despite mixed reactions from critics on the overall quality and consistency of the album, "First" went on to chart at number 1 on the
Billboard Alternative Songs chart
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ra ...
, making it the band's highest charting single ever.
2016–2018: ''L.A. Divine''
On March 16, 2016, Cold War Kids announced via their
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
the departure of lead guitarist Dann Gallucci and that he was to be replaced by We Barbarians' David Quon.
On October 31, 2016, Cold War Kids released a single called
wikt:"Locker Room Talk", as part of the
30 Days, 50 Songs project protesting
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's
presidential run. The band stated that "At this point in the game, taking a shot at Trump almost feels unnecessary. Too easy. More negativity. We're all so tired of him. But when I heard
Death Cab's song, I realized that's a mistake. It's important to state the obvious, to express those feelings in a song. Even if it's maybe redundant, it feels great to let it all out!"
On February 2, 2017, Cold War Kids released the lead single, entitled "
Love Is Mystical", to their sixth studio album, ''
L.A. Divine'', which was released on April 7, 2017.
On December 7, 2018 Cold War Kids released the double disc compilation album ''This Will All Blow Over In Time'', featuring radio singles as well as unreleased and rare tracks.
2019 to present: ''New Age Norms'' and ''Cold War Kids''
On November 1, 2019, Cold War Kids released their seventh studio album, ''New Age Norms 1''. The band released "Complainer" and "4th of July" as a double single ahead of its release on June 18. Cold War Kids set a fall U.S. headlining tour to promote the album. The album was followed by ''New Age Norms 2'' and ''3'' in 2020 and 2021 respectively; the albums were intended to form a trilogy in which the band explored more topical songwriting.
During the summer of 2023, the band opened for
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...
for the resumption of their tour behind the album ''
The Tipping Point
''The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference'' is the debut book by Malcolm Gladwell, first published by Little, Brown in 2000. Gladwell defines a tipping point as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling po ...
''.
On November 3, the band's tenth studio album, ''Cold War Kids'' was released
.
The band are expected to tour in 2024 to promote their new album.
Musical style and influences
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Heather Phares cites
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
,
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...
,
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...
, and
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
as influences for the band's
blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
-influenced
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
sound.
The band has identified other major influences as
Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She released five albums from 1996 to 2020, all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2021, she has sold over ...
,
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
,
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
,
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
,
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
,
U2, and
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
.
Members
Current members
*Nathan Willett – lead vocals, piano, rhythm guitar, percussion
(2004–present)
*Matt Maust – bass guitar
(2004–present)
*
Joe Plummer – drums
(2013–present)
*Matthew Schwartz – keyboards, lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, percussion
(2014–present; touring musician 2013–2014)
*David Quon – lead guitar, backing vocals
(2016–present)
Former members
*Jonnie Russell – lead guitar, backing vocals, percussion, piano, keyboards
(2004–2012)
*Matt Aveiro – drums
(2004–2013)
*
Dann Gallucci – lead guitar, keyboards, percussion
(2012–2016)
Timeline
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Promotional singles
Other charted songs
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2004 establishments in California
American blues rock musical groups
Biola University
Capitol Records artists
Downtown Records artists
Indie rock musical groups from California
MapleMusic Recordings artists
Musical groups established in 2004
Musical quartets from California
Musical quintets from California
V2 Records artists