You have to hand it to Cold War Kids: Most bands couldn’t have weathered this level of critical hatred and member turnover (three departures in a four-year span)—not to mention a broader shift in the cultural landscape that suddenly made their early brand of soul-influenced rock unfashionable. But frontman Nathan Willett has continued to command the ship over the past decade-plus, through flirtations with arena-sized mainstream rock (2011’s Mine Is Yours ) and sleek pop balladry (their 2015 hit “First”). For New Age Norms 1 , the initial installment in a trilogy, Willett flung open the doors and let new sounds seep in: On “Dirt in My Eyes,” they sink into a funky indierock groove; on the laid-back “4th of July,” he swoons in falsetto over a laid-back R&B strut; with tear-jerking on-the-road piano ballad “Beyond the Pale,” the band falls away entirely, leaving Willett to belt about the beauty of fidelity. (“How many nights have I been away?/ These hotel walls all look the same,” he sings, carrying on the tradition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”) Most surprising is the overt slinkiness of “Waiting for Your Love,” which, with its glistening guitar and bass riffs, one could easily confuse for Maroon 5. Lyrics are still a liability, especially when Willett tries to tap into the divisiveness of superficiality on social media (the blustery “Complainer”). But it’s been years since Cold War Kids sounded this locked-in—kudos to these journeymen for rolling with the punches.