Cold War Kids is an American indie rock band from Long Beach, California. Band members are Nathan Willett (vocals, piano, guitar), Matt Maust (bass guitar), David Quon (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Schwartz (backing vocals, keyboards and piano, percussion, guitar), and Joe Plummer (drums, percussion). Former members of the band include Dann Gallucci (guitar, keyboards, percussion), Matt Aveiro (drums, percussion), and Jonnie Russell (guitar, vocals, piano, keyboards, percussion). Forming in 2004 in Fullerton California, the Cold War Kids' early releases came from independent record label Monarchy Music.

Cold War Kids spent the end of 2008 and most of 2009 on the road touring for Loyalty to Loyalty, highlighted by a national tour with Death Cab for Cutie. In between touring, the band returned to the studio to record what would become their seventh EP, Behave Yourself. In an interview with Flavorwire, Maust talked about the differences between this and Loyalty to Loyalty: "It's basically the happier, more vibrant songs that didn't really fit on the [Loyalty] album. We realized that in a way, we were starting to work ahead of ourselves, so this [EP] works as a nice bridge between records." Behave Yourself was released digitally on iTunes on December 21, 2009, and given a physical version on January 19, 2010.  Cold War Kids went back into the studio in February 2010. Willett, when speaking to Filter Magazine, said, "Album three is in the works now. We are working with a producer named Jacquire King. He has a sweet and eclectic roster of Modest Mouse, the last Norah Jones record, Tom Waits' Mule Variations, the last Kings of Leon record...So, he is going to work miracles with us. All of our music has always been written entirely by us, without any influence, so to have him step in and help us with the direction is tremendous. I was just watching the Wilco Documentary again, and I think that in many ways Wilco is to country/Americana as Cold War Kids is to soul/punk. We are taking what we do to the next level on this record. The EP is the final reminder of the good old days of quick and fun, minimal Cold War Kids recording."  Mine Is Yours was released on January 25, 2011, and garnered mixed reviews from critics. Billboard said that "the band has emerged with a set that's more inviting than its first but just as catchy." Sean O'Neal of The A.V. Club said that the album has "the bland sound of a band trading identity for ambition." Cold War Kids supported the album with a spring tour across North America that included festival appearances at Bonnaroo and Coachella. On February 8, 2012, the band announced that lead guitarist Jonnie Russell left the band due to personal reasons.

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