Cold War Kids bassist Matt Maust could barely muster the strength to lift his feet the two long flights of stairs up into the studio on this day just two weeks ago. They’d gotten on the road early that morning, coming from Chicago, where they’d opened for Mates of State the night before. The Mates were playing a post-Lollapalooza show while the Kids were playing something more along the preview lens. In Chicago already, the California four-piece obliged us with a detour – writing us at the beginning of the week to say that they really wanted to come in for a session and which of these three days would work best. We took their off-day away from them and caught them on a Friday afternoon that was our own private first day of Lollapalooza as Texans Sound Team stopped in eight hours later to record right into the wee hours of the night. This session was a dichotomy of the band that is being written about in a special way these days. It’s gained for itself prestige as one of the most potent live acts roaming this great land – and seeing them the next morning in Chicago, before anyone in the Central time zone’s lunch could have possibly settled showed that yeah, sure thing, these are those guys. But here they were, somewhat quiet, mighty friendly and as subdued as four logs, recording four songs that still can make hair stand on end for they are stampedes of irrational fusion and dynamic squalls of vibrant amens or something along those lines. You know it when you feel it. You know it when it hits you. You know it when you hear them. These guys sing songs that always have an element of taking those waxwings too close to the sun, but making it alright because at least it inspired something good, something that made us feel more alive. – Sean Moeller