"Dusty Rhodes and the River Band shoot just shy of the bull’s-eye every year—seen them make a whole pizza parlor sing along, seen them make a straight shot to Kansas and back just on merch sales out of the back of the trailer—but every year they get more and more people in more and more places just goofy in love with them, which is especially charming since all they’ve ever had out is a set of limited-release CDs and DVDs. But Cold War Kids took that same unsigned set-up all the way to international album release and five minutes on Letterman, and although Dusty and co. have been on the slog longer, they’re pointed toward the same place. They got shotgun-wedding country charisma and a swap-meet-rock sound (Creedence, the Band, the Beatles) that someone will make into gold records (maybe attached producer Ikey Owens from Mars Volta) and 2007 will be the year that the close calls finally connect." (-Steve Lowery, OC Weekly, 1-4-07)