COLD WAR KIDS SHARE NEW SONG โBLAMEโ OFF FORTHCOMING SELF-TITLED ALBUM
NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINE TOUR STARTS JANUARY 31
Cold War Kids have released the latest teaser of their forthcoming, self-titled album out November 3rd. The rushing and anthemic โBlame,โ features Cold War Kidsโ timeless, signature sound with power vocals and an earworm chorus. Sonically inspired by Elton John meets the Killers, the track explores frontman Nathan Willetโs relationship with his wife over the years.
โWhen you start off young together one person is always going to evolve before the other,โ he shares. โSo to stay together I had to catch up, take responsibility, take the blame for my absence and selfishness to move forward.โ
Nearly 2 decades after their inception and with 1 billion streams across their catalog, the California band continues to prove why theyโre an essential piece of the alt-rock ecosystem. The new release follows the recently released slow-burner โAnother Name,โ produced by Ethan Gruska, Double Life.โ and the current single โRun Away With Meโ which is currently #18 on the AltRock chart. With its funky groove and huge chorus, the track sets the tone for the LP as a whole – 12 high-minded, stylistically diverse songs referencing everything from Curtis Mayfield to the Pretenders and Elton John to Happy Mondays and Gang Of Four.
In January Cold War Kids will hit the road for their first tour in support of the LP. The tour of North America kicks off January 31 in San Francisco and concludes with a 2-night stand at The Fonda in Los Angeles on March 20 and 21. They will also play at New York Cityโs Webster Hall on March 1 and 2. Tickets are on sale HERE.
If Nathan Willett followed his usual impulses, Cold War Kidsโ 10th album might just have been a five-song EP, or an album with entirely different songs than the 12 ultimately chosen here. Instead, Willett took a rare pandemic-era breather to really contemplate what a Cold War Kids album could, and should, sound like in 2023, and how to infuse the material with meaningful discourse about his life specifically and the state of the world more broadly. Clearly, it was worth the wait: the aptly self-titled result is perhaps the strongest and most well-rounded full-length in the long-running California bandโs ample catalog, and the purest possible distillation of Cold War Kidsโ nearly 20-year career.
โIf Iโve got five songs done that Iโve worked on in a certain way, I tend to want to put them out as an EP and go do some shows around it,โ Willett says of his mindset during the early stages of Cold War Kids. โContinually as my brain would go to that place, Iโd go, no, just wait, and really put together a full-length record. I needed to approach things very differently and work with some new people in a way that was a little uncomfortable. This album is where Iโve most felt like I was the executive producer of everything.โ
โThe band started out with four guys who have very specific tastes and styles, and now itโs mostly me making the records in a way I love and have always envisioned,โ Willett says. โThe sound of Cold War Kids has always been there, and I wanted this record to be the ideal, best version of all those things weโve always been.โ
Just as the music on Cold War Kids draws equally from the bandโs blues-and-soul-driven sonic past as well as fresh forays into dance beats and โ80s pop/rock, the albumโs themes of creative life conflicting with domestic realities reflect Willettโs increasingly introspective state of mind. Committed to pushing himself just as hard to create the albumโs sound, Willett turned to a handful of new producers and collaborators, includingย Militarie Gunโs Max Epstein, Casey Lagos (Kesha, Wrabel), Ethan Gruska (Phoebe Bridgers, Weezer), Jenn Decliveo (Miley Cyrus, Hozier), and Malay (Frank Ocean, Lorde).
Ultimately, Cold War Kids is the culmination of Willett and Maustโs two-decade creative partnership, and it embodies the realization that said partnership is still truly worth celebrating. โFor so many years, we were white-knuckling it and feeling like we were imposters,โ Willett admits. โI realized, I canโt think that way. If Iโm not sure I can listen back to something and know that itโs great, then I shouldnโt be putting it out.โ
โThis group of friends met and were drawn to each other at a Christian college, and we started the band in a strange environment where we realized, what are we all doing here?,โ Willet says. โWe came from a place of growing up, listening to music, and going to shows, and thereโs a type of sweetness where we were sheltered from the music industry or wanting to be successful at any cost. Maust and I still have that connection, and itโs still an important part of what Cold War Kids are today.โ
Cold War Kids is 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).
Tour Dates
1/31 – San Francisco, CA โ The Fillmore^
2/01 – Portland, OR โ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom^
2/02 – Vancouver, BC โ Vogue Theatre^
2/03 – Seattle, WA โ Moore Theatre^
2/05 – Boise, ID โ Knitting Factory^
2/06 – Bozeman, MT โ The ELM^
2/08 – Aspen, CO โ Belly Up Aspen^
2/09 – Denver, CO โ Gothic Theatre^
2/10 – Denver, CO โ Gothic Theatre^
2/13 – Tulsa, OK โ Cain’s Ballroom^
2/15 – Dallas, TX โ House of Blues^
2/16 – Houston, TX โ House of Blues^
2/17 – Austin, TX โ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater^
2/23 – Chicago, IL โ The Salt Shed#
2/24 – Minneapolis, MN โ First Avenue#
2/26 – Cleveland, OH โ House of Blues#
2/27 – Toronto, ON โ The Phoenix Concert Theatre#
2/28 – Boston, MA โ House of Blues#
3/01 – New York, NY โ Webster Hall#
3/02 – New York, NY โ Webster Hall#
3/03 – Philadelphia, PA โ The Fillmore#
3/05 – Washington, DC โ 9:30 Club#
3/08 – Raleigh, NC โ The Ritz#
3/09 – Atlanta, GA โ Buckhead Theatre#
03/15 โ Roseville, CA โ Goldfield Trading Post*
03/16 โ Santa Cruz, CA โ The Catalyst*
03/18 โ San Diego, CA โ The Observatory North Park*
03/20 โ Los Angeles, CA โ The Fonda Theatre*
03/21 โ Los Angeles, CA โ The Fonda Theatre*
03/23 โ Pioneertown, CA โ Pappy + Harrietโs*
^ – Hovvdy support
# – Joe P support
* – TBA support
Artist Links
Background Photo Credit: Sean Flynn
