Cold War Kids have made a name for themselves crafting the kind of faceless, nondescript brand of blues- and soul-injected indie rock that is working well for many of their bettors. After the success of their ubiquitous first big single "Hang Me Up to Dry" five years ago, it wasn't long before they had been lumped in with indie mainstays like the Black Keys. Perhaps buoyed by Black Keys' deserved success, Mine Is Yours finds Cold War Kids aiming for a decidedly more arena-friendly style, going so far as to enlist the help of Jacquire King, the producer who helped push fellow cheese-merchants Kings of Leon in a similar direction over the course of their previous two breakthrough records.
So, good for them, Cold War Kids are clearly making a bid for that kind of mainstream acceptance here, infusing their wishy-washy, blue-lit sound with a schmaltzy bigness that matches the heft of the religious and romantic in their music. More streamlined than their older music, Mine Is Yours' relative simplicity allows its songs to more transparently deal with love lost and found. Alas, the presentation couldn't be any more comically bombastic and melodramatic, and the idea of these guys splitting a bill with Coldplay or Kings of Leon would still seem like a bit of reach; maybe Train.
Most of the material here can be pretty easily tied-in with the goofy, love-and-life-affirming modern rock radio staples that share more with the likes of James Blunt or Lifehouse than the indie heavy-hitters they once found themselves awkwardly rubbing shoulders with. Even though songs like "Finally Begin" and "Louder Than Ever" are likely to inspire generic, arms-wide-open sing-alongs, Cold War Kids still find themselves trying to conjure the spirits of their former would-be contemporaries. "Sensitive Kid" amateurishly toys with Spoon's fractured stabs of piano, electronic percussion, and obtuse grooves; "Out of the Wilderness" attempts to replicate the majestic epicness of Funeral-era Arcade Fire, but instead lurches about uncomfortably like a tangled marionette.
One important thing to note is that Cold War Kids certainly haven't made a boring record. Where their previous two just sort of poked about, Mine Is Yours thrives on mishandled, overwrought emotional extremes. "Skip the Charades" confidently runs with a metaphor so face-palmingly silly, you'll be able to forgive just about anything. And even though frontman Nathan Willett has clearly taken strides to even out his voice, he's adopted an unlikable, smirky croon, made even more painfully noticeable when he's spouting out gems like, "It's a slippery slope, like that Mouse Trap game".
Only on "Cold Toes on the Cold Floor" can we recant the ragtag jubilation of something like "Hang Me Up to Dry", but it too is a false alarm. Trying to impart a little spontaneity into an otherwise coldly calculated effort, Willett calls for "One more!" round of the chorus. Its careful placement tellingly reveals the false humanism at the heart of Mine Is Yours, an album which ultimately exhausts itself trying to convince you it's not as empty as it actually is.
