EP Review: Cold War Kids – Five Quick Cuts
2 min read
American indie rockers Cold War Kids have been on the scene for over a decade now, from their early days since signing to a major with their debut album Robbers & Cowards, up until now with the current release of their EP Five Quick Cuts. CWK’s sound has evolved along their journey, an adventure that has seen the group grace many a stage, including this year’s colossal Lollapalooza festival; it will be great to see where the group are at now with the new EP, so let’s take a look.
Opening track Stop & Rewind is a little left of centre, melodically it stands alone and you don’t know whether to bop along or focus entirely on what’s going on, the array of sounds going on retains your attention. Amazing is introduced by some crisp chords from the keyboard before accompaniment from the bass builds the atmosphere, this track is more followable with its dramatic vocal line and subtle drum beat.
Single One Song At A Time proves worthy of carrying the torch with its energetic pace, lifting guitar riff and back and forth vocal work, this is the track on the EP that stays with you after listening. Portuguese Bend serves as a brief break before launching into Thunder Hearts, which has the electricity the EP needed to go out with a bang.
Cold War Kids just keep evolving and evolving, Five Quick Cuts may not be a full studio album to prove that point on a larger scale, but it’s enough to get an idea of where the group are going; the EP is unique, interesting and snappy and almost entirely grips you from start to finish. There were moments where you kind of wondered where the release was going, particularly with strange opener Stop & Rewind and a one minute interval on an already short EP, but overall Five Quick Cuts is appealing and will leave you wanting more from the group.
