Cold War Kids return with the safety off at the Fonda

The first lyrics on Cold War Kids’ newest album, “Dear Miss Lonelyhearts,� sum up the band’s predicament right now. “I was supposed to do great things,� Nathan Willett howls over a speedy piano plink. “I wasn’t raised to shoot for fame, I had the safety on.�

Cold War Kids have indeed done some great things, rising out of L.A.’s mid-’00s indie scene with an arty take on barroom blues-rock that made them international stars. They made a real pivot with a summery, pop-inclined 2011 album, “Mine Is Yours,� and hired producer Jacquire King to shine up their sound in hopes of pivoting to mainstream success.

Whatever bar they’d set for that, they didn’t quite clear it. The album earned mixed reviews while alienating some longtime fans, and despite a winning Coachella set in 2011, their big grab at the rock-star brass ring came up a little short.

But let’s not overcorrect here. “Dear Miss Lonelyhearts� is purposefully opposed to the ethic of “Mine Is Yours.� It’s an adventurous yet immediate rock record that hits like a sock full of nickels to the face.

The band tries on some more modern and noisy production styles -- a little bit of New Order synthesis and soul-man wails on “Lost That Easy,� a spare and powerful Otis Redding deconstruction on “Tuxedos.� New member and former Modest Mouse guitarist Dann Gallucci turns in a fine show, and Willett sings like he’s got three minutes to earn a stay of execution.

It’s all a reminder that despite the gyre of the hype cycle, this is a really talented and ambitious band whose time licking its wounds has given it a taste for blood. You’d do well to go see its headlining set at the Fonda tonight, because this is band that once made a record with the safety on -- and now it’s very, very off.

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