Five years ago, the Cold War Kids exploded onto the indie-rock
scene with their debut record Robbers & Cowards. The album
featured a rare emotional fragility and bluesy verve—exemplified
by the haunting, infectious lead track, "We Used to
Vacation"—and it made the Long Beach, California band fast
favorites of among a pair of audiences that rarely see eye to
eye: hip audiophiles and rock radio stations. Their new album,
Mine is Yours, drops on January 25th, and it shows off an even
more polished sound. Frontman Nathan Willet spoke with GQ about
the Cold War Kids' place in the scene, their ambitions as a
band, and their possible participation in a certain upcoming
music festival in the desert.  You just got back from Australia.
What was the response like down there? Australia has to be one
of the craziest places. You forget how well you do—it's
exaggerated how well we do in Australia—and just how strange and
cool that is. We never took for granted how weird it is that
people know all our music. It's strange whe