Cold War Kids

After crafting one of the best albums of the year, and following on from a storming Glastonbury set, Cold War Kids brought their Robbers and Cowards long-player to Latitude, and showed just why those in the know had them down as a must see, despite the 'cool kids' rejecting them outright from the offset.



More vitriolic than their laid back Glastonbury set, this was clearly a band that were fired-up, and it showed in the material. Nathan Willet led his band out to do a job, and do a job they most certainly did. Anyone who wasn't impressed by both the power and professionalism of their performance clearly has no taste, or, for that matter, sense. Make no mistake, Cold War Kids are one of the most professional bands playing live at the moment, and to miss them is nothing short of a travesty.



Of course, a band is nothing without the material to back it up. Thankfully, Cold War Kids have the material in abundance. 'St. John', their tale of rightful, yet injust, imprisonment, was particularly abrasive and the band attacked it as if possessed, whilst 'We Used To Vacation' was even more heartbreaking live than on record. The stand-out track, though, was the excellent 'Hospital Beds', which was delivered in all its staggering glory. Surely up there with the best of modern songwriting, it was simply phenomenal, and the hush which descended across the Latitude crowd when it kicked in was testament to the power of this very finest piece of musicianship.

Cold War Kids are a hugely underrated outfit, as is proven both by this exemplary performance, and the quality of their debut album. The world has to cotton on soon, but for now, just enjoy the warm glow of not being part of the herd.

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