Last Friday, April 7, Cold War Kids performed at the iHeartRadio Album Release Party with Cold War Kids. The band celebrated their new album, LA Divine, with a performance of new songs Love is Mystical and So Tied Up while also playing fan favorites such as First and Hang Me Up To Dry. Please see highlights below.
Highlights:
- Love Is Mystical has the bluesy, dark vibes that a true “stomper” has, which Cold War Kids has always loved. This song however, is newer and has it all, which is why it’s such a great introduction to the album.
- LA Divine has been called the “best thing that this band has done over the years.”
- Host Harms noted that this album seems like a love letter to the city of Los Angeles. Lead singer Nathan Willett noted that while growing up he thought he would always move away from here, because he didn’t really “get” the city of Los Angeles, since in many ways it is a very disconnected city. Once the band went on tour, he always wanted to come back, and loved the city that much more. He also said that it is an interesting time of change here, and they wanted to capture that in the album.
- When asked if the political climate, loss, and emotional parts of 2016 seeped into the making of the album, Willett noted they definitely did. In particular, he thought a lot about how with hip hop albums, there are often skits or pieces of story that tie the album together, and on this album there are a few short songs that serve the same purpose, while highlighting current events. An example is the song Wilshire Protest.
- They talked about the popularity of their song First, and what it would have been like for them as a band if the song was on their first album rather than their fifth. Willett said in hindsight he’s so glad things worked out the way they did, but it was bizarre and “sort of a fairytale thing” to have this happen on the fifth record, and it’s changed them for the better.
- Harms asked if it was true that there is a song called LA Divine that didn’t make it on the record. Willett clarified that there was a song that didn’t make the record with a lyric saying “Los Angeles is divine and music is worship,” but there is no song titled LA Divine.
- The band spoke about their collaboration with Bishop Briggs. Willett noted that he loves a powerful women’s voice, like Lauryn Hill, Nina Simone, and Fiona Apple, so in the middle of working on the record when he heard River by Bishop Briggs on the radio, he messaged her on Twitter asking if she wanted to collaborate. They spoke on the phone, the chemistry was right, and So Tied Up was created.
Set List:
- Love Is Mystical
- Can We Hang On ?
- First
- Miracle Mile
- Hang Me Up To Dry
- All This Could Be Yours
- Hot Coals
- So Tied Up
- Mexican Dogs
- We Used To Vacation
- Love On The Brain (Rihanna cover)
- Something Is Not Right With Me