Cold War Kids. Reagan babies, missile fears, and international blues. A band who on the evidence of a handful of live shows in the UK earlier this year, seem to effortlessly produce music that manages to be highly emotive and both ear-splittingly loud and vast, yet equally intimate and blissful, with the sweetest of harmonies. Live, Cold War Kids create a chaotic grove that recalls the first Beta Band EP, Billie Holiday, Dylan and the Velvet Underground. Lyrically, they conjure up bizarre and fragile tales of robbery, complex relationships, political and religious allegories. Sepia tinged imagery of fishing trips, the front page of the New York Times and Vietnam. These are expertly woven tales of everyday wretched people trying their damnedest to live well while teetering between despair, complacency and joy. Characters that are funny and serious at the same time, like J.D. Salinger or "Peanuts". This is a very special band that ticks all the boxes and (without even trying, or probably caring) are, cool as f**k.