After first learning about the collaboration from Interpol’s Sam Forgarino and Swervedriver’s Adam Franklin, it seemed like it was going to be something that was too good to be true. Throw in the fact that the EP is going to be released on Record Store Day made the whole thing sound even more intriguing.
The title of opener “Cold War Kids” might throw some indie fans off, but this sounds nothing like the band Cold War Kids. This track is dreamy and follows the staple shoe-gazing formula: subdued vocals, a strong sense of melody and droning guitars. The wall of sound doesn’t stop there, but continues on with the sleepy “Don’t Go To The Dream State.” Things pick up a little on “The Way Love Used To Be,” easily the most pop track on the short EP. Perhaps it is because it is a cover from The Kinks, one of the most inspirational bands to come out of the British Invasion. Hints of Interpol’s influence peek through the shadows towards the end of “Yesterday’s Flowers,” but it works, and doesn’t sound out of place. Finally, the EP comes to a crashing close with a different version of “Cold War Kids,” called “(Get Cladius).”
Magnetic Morning is a perfect waltz of old (Swervedriver) and new (Interpol), and the end result is something that erases the gap between the bands of yesterday and today, even if both are technically still alive and kicking.
“Cold War Kids”
