Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
by Cold War Kids
  • Record Label: Downtown
  • Release Date: Apr 2, 2013
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. AllMusic
    Apr 1, 2013
    70
    Dear Miss Lonelyhearts is more about what the band does best rather than breaking new ground, and the result is some of Cold War Kids' most promising and satisfying music since their debut.
  2. Uncut
    Apr 1, 2013
    60
    Four albums in, and Cold War Kids still feel like a band trying to decide what they are. [May 2013, p.69]
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  3. Q Magazine
    Apr 9, 2013
    60
    At only 37 minutes long, it never outstays its welcome. [May 2013, p.99]
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  5. New Musical Express (NME)
    Apr 2, 2013
    70
    They’ve stopped trying to do indie rock by numbers and gone back to the sort of idiosyncratic weirdness that made us fall for them in the first place.
  6. Rolling Stone
    Apr 22, 2013
    40
    All the literary ambitions and drama-rock gestures fall in a ponderous heap--like CWK are losing an arms race with their own pretensions.
  7. musicOMH.com
    Apr 1, 2013
    60
    While the album does lose some of its focus and direction towards the end, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts is undoubtedly a much better album than Mine Is Yours.
  8. Under The Radar
    Jun 13, 2013
    40
    Singer Nathan Willett's voice comes off as wandering over uninspired changes. [Jun-Jul 2013, p.97]
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  9. The Line of Best Fit
    Apr 8, 2013
    60
    It’s an album that washes over, vying for attention, but never quite succeeds in grabbing it, and never quite living up to what Cold War Kids could be.
  10. Paste Magazine
    Apr 2, 2013
    71
    Dear Miss Lonelyhearts is not the breakthrough into critical acclaim either, hampered by innocuous words and the lack of personality in the arrangements and individual players, Matt Aveiro, Matt Maust and new guy Dann Gallucci.
  11. Consequence
    Apr 5, 2013
    60
    Dear Miss Lonelyhearts fails to reach back far enough to the band’s less polished, indie blues-fueled Robbers & Cowards days, but at least integrates that sound with hints of the striving-for-stadiums pop-rock Mine Is Yours offered up.
  12. DIY Magazine
    Apr 1, 2013
    50
    As a whole, it feels slightly temporary and detached, largely thanks to its uneven pacing and experimental streak.
  13. Alternative Press
    Apr 1, 2013
    80
    After the wet noodle that was 2011's Mine Is Yours, California indie purveyors Cold War Kids come back al dente on Dear Miss Lonelyhearts. [May 2013, p.84]
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  14. No Ripcord
    Apr 8, 2013
    60
    Certainly this record is relevant, and maybe even worth listening to with some regularity. But I can't help but feel that this album is just a watered down Arcade Fire rather than the aural adventure that others seem to hear.
  15. Magnet
    Apr 16, 2013
    80
    Occasionally a bright guitar line or luminous touch of piano floats out of the mix to deliver a hint of sunshine, but mostly the band does a skillful job of supporting Nathan Willett's anguished vocals. [No. 97, p.54]
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  16. Boston Globe
    Apr 2, 2013
    70
    At least seven of the 10 tracks score immediately.
  17. Filter
    Apr 3, 2013
    66
    Themes of maturation again flow through, yet some tracks (“Jailbirds,” “Bottled Affection”) recognize the trade-off between freedom and insecurity of youth.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
  1. mariafl
    Apr 6, 2013
    7
    Good album overall, but lacks a track or two that really stand out. What they need is to try new things, their sound hasn't changed much sinceGood album overall, but lacks a track or two that really stand out. What they need is to try new things, their sound hasn't changed much since Mine Is Yours and some songs on the album sound pretty much the same. Fav tracks: Tuxedos, Water & Power, Bitter Poem.… Full Review »
  2. TheRanter26
    Apr 4, 2013
    7
    Cold War Kids are a band that seem to be confused on what they want to be, and they’re getting closer and closer to figuring it out, but DearCold War Kids are a band that seem to be confused on what they want to be, and they’re getting closer and closer to figuring it out, but Dear Miss Lonelyhearts is still not the answer. It is though a good album, nothing special in the slightest, but one that is listenable and has some pretty good moments on it. And I’ll take a good Cold War Kids album no matter what.

    The Full Review is here.
    http://ranterreviews.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/cold-war-kids-dear-miss-lonelyhearts/    … Full Review »
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