Cold War Kids Release New Album, Video for ‘4th of July’

Cold War Kids have officially announced the release of their eagerly anticipated new album. NEW AGE NORMS 1 is available now in a variety of formats via CWKTWO/AWAL.

Produced by Lars Stalfors (St. Vincent, HEALTH, Foster the People), NEW AGE NORMS 1 marks the first volume of a remarkable three-album trilogy from Cold War Kids. The release arrives alongside the world premiere of an official companion video for the album highlight, “4th of July.”

Over their career, Cold War Kids have fielded music’s seismic shifts while simultaneously sticking to their own game plan. Over the course of a dozen releases – including seven studio albums, multiple EPs, and 2017’s live collection, AUDIENCE – on majors and indies alike, non-stop tours and the festival circuit’s biggest stages, massive radio and streaming successes as well as a few lineup changes of their own, Nathan Willett and his band have become a major part of the modern landscape. 

Coming off of the high water marks of 2014’s HOLD MY HOME – with its smash single, “First” – and 2017’s acclaimed LA DIVINE, Willett began to hone in on what was most exciting and integral to him in both the Cold War Kids recipe as well as in the current music climate. While on tour in the summer of 2018, he and the band obsessed over the seemingly never-ending stream of Kanye West-produced records being released (particularly gravitating to those by Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, and Kid Cudi), enamored of their breezy compactness and fresh feeling.

Willett became excited to explore a working relationship with his longtime producer of favor, Lars Stalfors. Upon Willett’s return to Los Angeles, the pair entered the studio to write a very specific type of album. 

“The idea that those Kanye records were coming out every month felt so cool, very of the moment,” Willett says. “Eight songs, a very digestible amount of music that just keeps coming. And it really sunk in how fun it was to experience those in real time with all of us together. I wanted to do that with Lars – to make a record with just a writer and a producer. So it began a whole new chapter, what I would call Cold War Kids 2.0. I think the approach, sonically, was in taking apart the idea of what the band is and just trying to take the doors off a bit to see where it can go.” 

“Complainer,” the first song written for NEW AGE NORMS, is a call to transcend and do something constructive rather than dwell on all the things that might drag us down, its message inspired Willett throughout the recording process.

“4th of July,” with Willett’s falsetto delivering a laid-back but withering chorus as the beat pops smoothly around him, is a song about the mixed feelings Americans can encounter on patriotic holidays spent in celebration but without a context of appreciation.

“For me, the songs are always the most important piece of Cold War Kids,” Willett says. “And in them, having a strong message and maintaining a positive energy and output – and not just rage and conflict – is so important, and what can set us apart. But at the same time, we’re doing an old thing: rock ‘n’ roll! I don’t want to completely intellectualize it, because we don’t have this liberal, politically correct agenda. We set out to make a rock and roll record. But, the person that I am, the band that we are, the values that we have are in these songs. They’re not tropes of rock and roll urges; they’re in pursuit of a new value, a better world. And it’s not so clear cut what those are, but these are the new age norms.”

NEW AGE NORMS 1 – which features cover art by the Los Angeles-based band’s bassist, acclaimed artist Matt Maust – includes the current hit single, “Complainer.” Co-written with multi-platinum songwriter Bonnie McKee (Katy Perry, Rita Ora) and Electric Guest’s Asa Taccone, “Complainer” has quickly proven a multi-format radio favorite, currently ascending the top 5 at Triple A whilst fast rising up the top 20 at Alternative outlets across America. In addition, the song was recently joined by a powerful acoustic version, “Complainer (Strings & Keys),” available now at all streaming services.

Cold War Kids is celebrating NEW AGE NORMS 1 with a major North American headline tour, continuing tomorrow with an exclusive concert and album release party at Long Beach, CA’s Ballast Point Brewing Co., highlighted by an intimate performance at Long Beach’s Fingerprints Music and featuring extras including a CD copy of NEW AGE NORMS 1, an exclusive merch bundle (with custom patch and guitar picks), and a pint of the new Cold War Kids/Ballast Point Collaboration beer. Limited tickets remain; complete details can be found HERE. 

The tour will then travel the West Coast through late November before resuming in 2020 with headline dates beginning January 16 at Portland, OR’s Crystal Ballroom and then continuing through late February (see itinerary below). Highlights include two-night-stands at Seattle, WA’s Neptune Theatre (January 17 and 18) and New York City’s famed Webster Hall (February 4 and 5). For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.coldwarkids.com. 

Furthermore, Cold War Kids will make a high profile network TV appearance next week with a performance of “Complainer” on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, set for Thursday, November 7. (check local listings).