#7 - Cold War Kids - Can We Hang On ?
Cold War Kids make their debut appearance on the countdown after just missing out in 2014 with their massive hit First. They're a band who usually has 1 song per album that just knocks me off my feet, but are often a little too artsy for my tastes. Their music is always solid and well produced, and they do a great job melding driving guitars and drums with piano strokes. The main knock I have on their music is that sometimes lead singer Nathan Willett almost puts too much of himself into the music, making it overpowering and somewhat off-putting. All the same, the band sells a lot of records being a trend-setter in alternative music, and "LA Divine" climbed up to #69 on the Billboard 200 while breaking into the Top 10 once again in US Alternative and US Rock.
I really only found two songs that I enjoyed on this record, which was somewhat of a disappointment because I could their previous release "Hold My Home" to be their best to date. As it stands, they released another hit single in Love is Mystical before dropping our #7 hit Can We Hang On ?, which immediately hooks you in with its screaming guitar and piano combination in the first few seconds. Willett proves himself as a songwriter with every line in the song, reaching a paramount with "would you be mine forever, just in case it exists?". It's a song about a broken home and relationship, and the struggle to make things persevere. The song didn't chart but it still chalked up 4.5M streams on Spotify, and has a video with a man dancing by himself with the music along El Porto Beach in LA.
Lost amongst the wave of upbeat and heavier hits from this year is the fact that I spent a major portion of the year fighting severe depression. In knowing myself it is difficult to imagine a year where new songs didn't help to guide my moods, and so of course there is usually a song that is darker or more dramatic than others ranking fairly high. Can We Hang On ? is a perfect song for those moods, and it was one of those songs that could have easily risen higher than #7 on any given year. It's only slammers from here on out!
Title: Can We Hang On ?
Artist: Cold War Kids
Album: LA Divine
Previous #7s
2016: Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling!
2015: Matty Mullins - More of You
2014: Impending Doom - Hellhole
2013: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - If You Didn't See Me (Then You Weren't On The Dancefloor)
2012: One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
2011: The Airborne Toxic Event - All I Ever Wanted
2010: Iyaz - Replay
2009: This Ending - Machinery
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