The Cold Still

Moments of band interplay showcase their collective ear for the nervously romantic-sounding post-punk that's helped inspire the group's sound.

Whether it's their best collection to date would be open to debate (and to these ears it isn't; Union still takes that accolade by a fair margin). In any case, it should serve them well both for the present and the future.

While certainly an accomplished progression from 09's "Union" in terms of tempo, it's still a bit too midlevel and the band might stand out from their contemporaries if they were a bit more rough around the edges.

More engaging doom from the download kings. [March 2011, p. 101]

Johns eliminates the melodramatic slow builds and punches up the groove quotient, much as he did for Ryan Adams on the similarly melancholy Heartbreaker. [Mar 2011, p.85]

They have the relentless persistence needed to stick to the wall long enough (this is their third self-released album), but despite their striving for the grandiose (Kings producer Ethan Johns provides the country-ish bluster) and breaks (a spot in rom-com Going The Distance for last album "Union"), there's still that dark sparkle missing.

At their best, their songs transcend lyrical cliches such as "There's a line between love and hate", and Locked in the Basement and The Runner are undeniably haunting, even though there's nothing to particularly distinguish the band from their better-known peers.