Cold War Kids: Robbers & Cowards [DOWNTOWN]

Why you'll love it

This 180g reissue adds extra artwork and a download card. Robbers & Cowards gave the band three singles, "We Used to Vacation," "Hang Me Up to Dry" and "Hospital Beds," and won praise for its blues rock bite and storytelling.

This edition

• 180g vinyl
• Download card included
• Extra artwork

About the album

Cold War Kids sounded like a bar band that had read a lot of short stories. The band built their debut on clattering piano, rattling guitars and Nathan Willett's big, pleading voice, and they produced it themselves with Kevin Augunas, with Matt Wignall engineering and producing two tracks.

The songs are small, vivid tales of yesteryear and of people at the end of their rope. "Hang Me Up to Dry" stomps along on a bass line you'll be humming for days, "We Used to Vacation" spins a family holiday into a dark little drama, and "Hospital Beds" turns a ward into a singalong. "Saint John," "Robbers" and "Red Wine, Success!" fill in the rest of the cast, and IGN marvelled that they had pulled it all together on a debut with ease.

They spent most of 2007 on the road, starting with a 37-city North American tour and later opening for The White Stripes. Stay put after "Sermons vs. the Gospel"; there's a hidden track at the end of side two, and it would be a shame to have tidied the record away by then.

Also at Kops: more Cold War Kids on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Downtown (cat# DWT700091), a reissue of the 2006 album.