Cold War Kids Stream Expanded 'Robbers & Cowards' Album
(UMe) Twenty years ago, Cold War Kids introduced their distinctive blend of soulful storytelling, blues-infused indie rock and unforgettable melodies with their acclaimed debut album, Robbers & Cowards.
Fueled by breakout singles "Hang Me Up to Dry," "We Used to Vacation" and "Hospital Beds," the album landed on the Billboard 200 and launched a career that has since generated more than one billion streams worldwide.
Today, Cold War Kids celebrate the album's 20ᵗʰ anniversary with Robbers & Cowards / Complete Cowards (20ᵗʰ Anniversary Edition), available now via UMe. The expanded collection completes four songs written during the album's original era but left unfinished at the time, and adds six live recordings captured in 2007 as the band toured in support of its breakout debut.
Robbers & Cowards / Complete Cowards is available as a 2LP on black vinyl or limited-edition Brick Red vinyl, both featuring alternate and new artwork, and as a 2CD set. The Digital Deluxe Edition adds Phantogram's newly reimagined version of "Hang Me Up to Dry," which transforms the Cold War Kids classic with heavy electro beats, layered atmospherics and bewitching vocals. The collaboration offers a first glimpse of a further 20ᵗʰ anniversary celebration, with more artist reinterpretations of songs from Robbers & Cowards coming in 2027.
The four newly completed songs-"Loyalty," "There Goes The Night," "Jesse Latour" and "She Can Do No Wrong"-all date back to the Robbers & Cowards era. Cold War Kids returned to the material two decades later to finish and record the songs for the anniversary collection.
The collection's six live recordings capture Cold War Kids onstage in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Paris and Philadelphia in 2007. Five performances are previously unreleased: "Hair Down," "God, Make Up Your Mind," "Passing The Hat," "Dirt In The Ground" and "Hospital Beds." The Amsterdam performance of "Saint John" was previously released on 2008's The Paradiso Sessions. Together, the recordings offer a snapshot of the band as its debut album was taking hold and its audience rapidly expanding.
"Robbers & Cowards is our first album. I don't think I could ever feel as warm and nostalgic towards any music as I do towards this album," says frontman Nathan Willett. "To be immersed in this world 20 years later and add to the story of R&C by digging through live performances, visual art, and making new recordings of unfinished songs, has been a full circle experience. We can't wait to share it again with you all."
Over the past two decades, Cold War Kids-the current lineup of which is Nathan Willett (vocals, piano, guitar), Matt Maust (bass), David Quon (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Schwartz (keys, backing vocals, guitar, percussion) and Joe Plummer (drums, percussion)-have grown from their DIY Long Beach, California, beginnings into one of alternative rock's defining voices. Across 10 studio albums and numerous EPs, the band has cultivated a devoted global fanbase through alternative radio staples, critically acclaimed albums and electrifying live performances.
Their 2015 Platinum-certified single "First" remains one of the most-played songs at alternative radio over the past decade. The band's 2023 self-titled 10ᵗʰ album, Cold War Kids, reflected both its roots and ongoing evolution, featuring "Double Life" and "Run Away With Me." In 2025, the band released "Any Day Now," an emotionally charged tribute to their longtime friend Richard Swift.
Two decades on, Robbers & Cowards / Complete Cowards returns to the songs, recordings and creative spark that launched Cold War Kids' career-and completes a chapter that began 20 years ago.
Stream/purchase Robbers & Cowards / Complete Cowards (20ᵗʰ Anniversary Edition) here
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