In August 2008, Cold War Kids played their biggest-ever event: the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. At the Denver Broncos' Invesco Stadium, Barack Obama was officially selected as the party's candidate for the forthcoming Presidential election before an ecstatic audience of 84,000. Elsewhere during the four-day showbiz-politico hootenanny, Cold War Kids played on a bill that included Jenny Lewis, Zooey Deschanel, Sarah Silverman and Shepard Fairey — creator of the iconic Obama "Hope" and "Change" posters. At the time the four-piece band — alumni of a Christian college — were promoting their second album, Loyalty To Loyalty. Its title came from the writings of Josiah Royce, a late 19th-century philosopher and proto-socialist from California. Their website proclaimed their enthusiasm for author David Foster Wallace. "The biggest objective Wallace wants to get across is to turn away from a style of writing that is ironical and sarcastic," singer Nathan Willett told me, "and point towards a much more genuine and sincere style of communication. A lot of people have talked about that with Obama — from his mannerisms to his speech, he's a very sincere guy, a genuine character."

Clearly, Cold War Kids nurse lofty ambitions, but little of their smarts… read more »