Originally released as a limited edition 10” vinyl on Record Store Day this year, the Cold War Kids have shown the rest of us some love with the EP reproduction. It seems over the last few albums the band have been making some changes; whether conscious or not. In Five Quick Cuts we get a little glimpse of just that. There’s a stronger ‘80s synth vibe and heavy keys sounds and the general composition has shifted closer to that pop sound.
But it’s not a consistent change and there are still glimpses of the old Cold War Kids sound. The new ‘80s vibe can be heard in ‘Stop & Rewind’ but next off the bat ‘Amazing’ brings back the grungier style to the forefront. The importance is again placed on the lyrics and guitars and I can say I am very grateful for it! It’s a great track and one of the highlights on the album.
‘One Song At a Time’ meets somewhere in the middle of these two ideas. It’s a happy meeting place and one that gets the perfect blend of the ‘upperty’ sound while still scraping the bottom. Instrumental track ‘Portugese Bend’, while only lasting a minute, is weirdly my favourite part of the album and I wish it went much longer than it did.
Marking the fifth in Five Quick Cuts is ‘Thunder Hearts’ and it’s just a nice all-rounder to close things off. If there’s any qualm it’s that perhaps there’s too much variance mixed into the five tracks, but I guess they are quick after all and they come best even as stand alone numbers.
Out now via Create/Control & Downtown Records
Reviewed by Amanda Sherring