Biography

Cold War Kids are an American indie rock band from Long Beach, California. The band’s current line-up consists of vocalist/pianist/guitarist Nathan Willett, guitarist/keyboardist Dann Gallucci, bassist Matt Maust and drummer Matt Aveiro. The band started in 2004 in downtown Fullerton in former guitarist/vocalist Jonnie Russell’s apartment, above a restaurant called Mulberry Street; whose name they would eventually use as the title of their first EP. The band relocated to Whittier, California and began recording their first demos, which Monarchy Music released as the Mulberry Street EP in spring 2005. Between tours, the band released two more EPs: With Our Wallets Full and Up in Rags, in 2006. In summer 2006, Cold War Kids signed to Downtown Records and released their debut LP, Robbers & Cowards, that fall.

After two years of non-stop touring around the world, and relocation to Long Beach, California, Cold War Kids went back into the studio spring 2008 with the producer of their first record, Kevin Augunas. The band’s second album, Loyalty to Loyalty, represented a departure from their debut in featuring a lot of narrative storytelling, as well as political and philosophical references. In an interview with Blackbox Magazine, Nathan described the record as “Being a little darker than the first.” “The title, ‘Loyalty to Loyalty,’ comes from the philosopher Josiah Royce. He said people need to live in community with each other, and he was reacting to Nietzsche who came before him, saying people need to rise above—you need to be the strongest individual you can and rise above the masses.”

The band spent the end of 2008 and most of 2009 on the road touring the record, highlighted by a national tour with Death Cab for Cutie. In between touring, the band returned to the studio to record what would become the Behave Yourself EP. It was followed up by the band’s third studio album, Mine is Yours, which was released on January 25th, 2011. It was produced by Jacquire King, who had previously worked with acts such as Kings of Leon, Norah Jones and Tom Waits. The album received the most mixed reviews of the band’s career, with critics labelling the production as overwrought and the song structures as generic.

In 2012, Jonnie Russell left the band for undisclosed reasons. He was replaced by former Modest Mouse guitarist Dann Gallucci. On January 15, 2013 the band announced a new single called Miracle Mile, for their fourth album, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts. The album was later released on April 2, 2013.