This October marks the twenty year anniversary of the release of Phantogram’s acclaimed blues-infused indie rock debut album, Robbers & Cowards. The album includes breakout singles like “We Used to Vacation,” “Hospital Beds” and “Hang Me Up to Dry.” In anticipation of the release of Robbers & Cowards / Complete Cowards (20th Anniversary Edition), which will arrive on October 30 via UMe, a newly reimagined version of “Hang Me Up to Dry” by the duo Phantogram has been released across streaming platforms. The band’s rendition transforms one of Cold War Kids’ signature songs with their trademark heavy electro beats, layered atmospherics, and bewitching vocals, bringing new dimension to the track. In a statement made by Cold War Kids frontman and songwriter Nathan Willett, he stated, “Phantogram made ‘Hang Me Up To Dry’ introspective, emotional, dark and beautiful,” adding that they made the song “completely their own.” 

The reimagined song is the first of many new songs that will appear on the album. Four newly completed songs will be included, titled “Loyalty,” “There Goes The Night,” “Jesse Latour” and “She Can Do No Wrong,” all which date back to the Robbers & Cowards era but never made the original album. “Loyalty” and “There Goes The Night” were released as singles earlier this year. Additionally, the album will include six live recordings that capture Cold War Kids onstage in 2007 following the release of Robbers & Cowards. These live recordings include the songs “Saint John,” “Hair Down,” “God, Make Up Your Mind,” “Passing The Hat,” “Dirt In The Ground” and “Hospital Beds,” which were recorded in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Paris and Philadelphia. When discussing their upcoming anniversary, Nathan Willett said, “Robbers & Cowards is our first album. I don’t think I could ever feel as warm and nostalgic towards any music as I do towards this album,” describing the process of making new recordings of their unfinished songs as a “full circle experience” that they are excited to share with the world.

Photo Credit: Owen Ela