Cold War Kids heat up the road

Southern California indie rockers Cold War Kids are getting ready to hit the road next month for North American tours supporting Muse and The White Stripes.

The group, which headlined a North American club trek earlier this year, will start with Muse Aug. 1 in Toronto and play a handful of dates in the eastern US. After a couple of festival shows in the UK, Cold War Kids will hook up with The White Stripes in early September for a trip around the US into mid-October. That leg includes two-night stands in Seattle and Chicago. Details are included below.

The video for Cold War Kids' single "Hospital Beds" debuts today (7/23) on MTVU and will be available on YouTube tomorrow (7/24). A press release touts the video as "nothing short of epic" saying it "includes boxing, guns and friends falling in love with each other's sisters."

"Hospital Beds" is the latest single off of the geek rockers' October debut, "Robbers and Cowards." The album, a compilation of EP songs and new material, has been lauded for capturing the energy of Cold War Kids' live show. It broke into The Billboard 200 and reached No. 15 on the magazine's Top Independent Albums chart. Several songs from the set are streaming at Cold War Kids' MySpace page.

In 2005/2006, the Kids self-released three six-song EPs--"Mulberry Street," "Up in Rags" and "With Our Wallets Full"-- and developed a significant fanbase through relentless touring, according to their label, Downtown Records.

The buzz surrounding the band grew louder thanks to music bloggers, and Cold War Kids found themselves on last year's Lollapalooza. They'll return to the cutting-edge music festival next month.