Book Cold War Kids

Cold War Kids are the Long Beach indie rock band behind "Hang Me Up to Dry" and "First," the 2014 single that reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. The group took shape in 2004 in Fullerton, California, after its members met at Biola University and began gathering in Jonnie Russell's apartment above a downtown restaurant, with bassist Matt Maust supplying a band name he had come up with years earlier. Early releases came out on the independent label Monarchy Music, and a 2006 deal with Downtown/V2 led to Robbers & Cowards, a debut that earned a devoted following with its piano-driven, bluesy sound. Loyalty to Loyalty (2008) and Mine Is Yours (2011) explored new directions, followed by Dear Miss Lonelyhearts (2013), Hold My Home (2014), which contained "First," and LA Divine (2017). The three-part New Age Norms series appeared from 2019 to 2021, and a self-titled album arrived in 2023. Today the lineup is singer and multi-instrumentalist Nathan Willett, Maust, guitarist David Quon, keyboardist Matthew Schwartz and drummer Joe Plummer. Willett's soulful, urgent vocals over pounding piano and guitar give Cold War Kids their signature sound across ten studio albums.