Behave Yourself EP

On the Behave Yourself EP, it seems like the Cold War Kids wanted to clear the decks before heading into the studio with producer Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon) for their third proper LP. These four tracks include songs a little too bright for 2008's Loyalty to Loyalty, as well as a more polished version of the great "Sermon vs. The Gospel," which first appeared on 2005's With Our Wallets Full EP and then as a hidden track on 2006's Robbers and Cowards. The other three songs feature sunny piano backings ("Audience of One") and clean California guitars ("Coffee Spoon," "Santa Ana Winds"), all topped by Nathan Willett's passionate tenor yelps. The physical version of the record ends abruptly with a random 38-second jam called "Baby Boy," which perhaps isn't much incentive to grab the CD over the download. More than a haphazard collection of odds and ends, Behave Yourself is enjoyable enough to hold fans over while they wait for album no. 3.