Much has been made of the Cold War Kids and their association with the blues, while still managing to appeal to any Strokes hangers-on. But while they may have been criticized in some quarters for not venturing far enough from the New Yorkers' brand of rock, Hospital Beds strips off the covers and refutes that style with conviction.
This is principally down to Nathan Willetts' voice, an instrument of piercing power when railing against the helplessness of being in care (not on the NHS, it's safe to assume!) or reaching impressive heights when delivering an impassioned live version of A Change Is Gonna Come, recorded in February at the Paradiso.
From the same gig come two more live bonuses. First up comes a raking St John, with fractured improvised contributions on saxophone before its gritty unison chorus, then a lengthy Quiet, Please that once again gets a raw vocal contribution from Willetts. All three live tracks are well worth acquiring.
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