Genre Indie rock, blues rock Label Downtown | Length 3:02 | |
Released December 1, 2009 (2009-12-01) Format Digital download, radio airplay Recorded 2009 at Tackyland (Long Beach) | ||
"Audience" (often titled as "Audience of One") is a song by American indie rock band Cold War Kids. It was the sole single off their seventh EP Behave Yourself (2010). The song was made available as a free download by the band on November 2009 before being officially released on December 1, 2009.
Contents
The song had a great response from critics who saw it as a return to form for the band. The song peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, their third top 40 hit on that chart. A music video was made for the single and premiered on January 2010.
Critical reception
"Audience" was given a great reception from critics. Heather Phares of AllMusic praised the song, saying that it brought the band's sound and Willett's voice "closer to the Jeff Buckley-tinged side of their music than their feisty rock". Dave Park of Prefix also praised the song, saying that he found "a latently bittersweet quality to it that adds an extra layer of humanity and relativity to the affair".
Music video
Directed by Vern Moen, the video takes places on a sailboat where the band members play one-half of a couple going through their morning at sea, while subtitles show what each other is saying. Intercut are scenes of the band performing in a house and when each of them are seen underwater. The video was uploaded on the band's YouTube page on January 25, 2010.