Cold War Kids

There's no running hot and cold with this indie-rock band.

The members of the Cold War Kids wear their emotions on their sleeves, churning out a unique blend of punk and soul music. The band's songs are raw and honest -- and fans love them.

A big chunk of the Cold War Kids' fans came out of the Internet's blogging community. Online writers created a wave of momentum that took the group from Fullerton, Calif., to the national spotlight.

"We grew up in Fullerton, which is outside of Los Angeles," vocalist/guitarist Nathan Willett said. "We knew each other through mutual friends, and we'd always hang out, go to shows and buy records together.

"At some point, we decided to play music. It's rare how many people start that way."

The Cold War Kids officially got started in 2004. The band moved to L.A. and put out its first EP, Mulberry Street, in 2005.

By 2005-06, the Internet music community was in full gear, and bloggers loved writing about the Cold War Kids' punk-meets-soul sound.

"We definitely have elements of soul and punk in our music," Willett said. "We hadn't heard of the term soul-punk before, but it made sense. For me, I like soulful songs by Nina Simone, but I also like post-punk guitar sounds."

Willett and his bandmates definitely give credit to the blogging community for spurring the group's popularity.

"Blogging was really happening when we started touring in 2005," Willett said. "We started to get interest from some of the bloggers and they started to write about us. If we played a show in Boston, then people in New York City would read about us before that show.

"It was a golden opportunity to get all this exposure and it showed that bloggers could really break bands."

The Cold War Kids' newfound popularity attracted major record labels. In 2006, the band signed to Downtown Records -- the same label that features Gnarls Barkley.

By 2007, the group was sharing concert stages with high-profile acts such as the White Stripes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

Now, the Cold War Kids are touring behind their new record, Loyalty to Loyalty.

"We wanted to make this record different," Willett said. "We wanted to reach a wider audience, so we made the record more structured. The songs have traditional choruses and verses, but we still wanted to sound like the Cold War Kids."

Willett said the band took extra care writing the songs for Loyalty to Loyalty.

"I wanted there to be a sense that every song was a thing unto itself," Willett said. "We really wanted the lyrics to take shape. It may not be the greatest piece of writing, but we wanted people to really get something out of the songs."

The Cold War Kids were pleased with the CD's tunes, but Willett said his favorite song is the emotive "Every Man I Fall For."

"It's a story about destructive relationships," Willett said. "We wove in all kinds of personal and fictional elements to have a balance, so the song goes between personal and poetic -- it also has a sense of mystery."