Cold War Kids – ‘Hospital Beds’ (V2) Released 14/05/07

Though unlikely to camp out in your mind for as long as the brilliant ‘Hang Me Up To Dry’, the newest offering from Cold War Kids is still likely to stick around for quite a while. ‘Hospital Beds’ features all of the band’s trademarks with thumping, sinister piano, reverb heavy guitar and of course, Nathan Willett’s fantastic vocals, full of desperation, heartbreak and sounding like he’s going to have a breakdown at any moment. As always, there’s fairly bleak subject matter with Willet intoning “I got one friend laying across from me, I did not choose him, he did not choose me.”

The trio of b-sides are all live cuts, including a unnecessary take on Sam Cooke’s classic ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’. Thankfully, there’s a terrific, fiery and soulful ‘Saint John’ there as well, making up for any dodgy covers. Cold War Kids have started to get a little flak for their rapid success but this is a excellent riposte, showing why they’re deserving of adulation.