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Cobra Starship – Hot Mess

September 3, 2009 By Max Specht 2 Comments

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Artist: Cobra Starship
Album: Hot Mess
Label: Decaydance Records
Purchase: Amazon
Release Date: August 11th, 2009

Overall: 7
Music: 7
Lyrics: 5.5
Production: 8

Cobra Starship have been on their way to becoming what they are for a while now, so it should come to no one as a surprise that their third album titled Hot Mess is a melting pot of electronically layered pop-punk with lots of attitude and neon. While this album will garner so much hate it is unprecedented by any other band in the scene with such a career, it is still an album that has its moments and shines through at just the right times.

Unfortunately there’s no excuse to make a song like “Nice Guys Finish Last” passable as a legitimate Cobra Starship tune (especially the opener), it leads the album off on a bad foot as it sounds like a rejected Britney Spears song (Blackout, not Circus…). Already one might be contemplating their purchase of the album.

The aforementioned track is probably the only one that really brings Hot Mess down to any bad level. The rest of the tracks are either great, good, or just kind of a letdown. Nothing else really screams terrible or bad. Songs like “Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We’re Famous” and “Move Like Your Gonna Die” pay tribute to the sounds of their debut and sophomore album (more guitar and fast pacing) that make them shine on an album filled with electronic beats.

But the songs that do rock with a more mechanical song are also good. The falsetto led chorus of “Living In The Sky With Diamonds” feels good and dances along at a nice pace (also with probably the best lyrics on the album), and “Hot Mess” is anthemic in nature and really calls for some hardcore chanting at the chorus (don’t pay attention to the use of the word “boo” though).

It seems that Cobra Starship are genuinely happy with where they are at in music. And it just so happens that they are reaping the benefits with the lead single “Good Girls Go Bad” being played on radio stations nation wide. It’s good to see Gabe Saporta finally getting the attention he deserves, he’s come this far and the mainstream is his to call home now. While the lyrics aren’t really up to snuff most of the time, and the music can be overly obnoxious, it’s a fun record with catchy songs and a good time to be had.

Filed Under: Album, Reviews Tagged With: atlantic-records, Cobra Starship, Decaydance, Fueled By Ramen, Gabe-Saporta, hot-mess

Cobra Starship Interview – June 4th, 2007

June 23, 2007 By Andrea Hubbell Leave a Comment

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On June 4th, 2007, when the Honda Civic Tour stopped for a show in Columbia, MD, I got the amazing opportunity to interview Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez, guitarist and bass guitarist of Cobra Starship and members of their own band, Ivy League. Gabe Saporta, frontman of Cobra, stepped in for a few words, also. I’ll be posting the unedited version of the interview as a podcast soon, so, once it’s posted, if you’d rather listen to that, be my guest, and tell me if you find any mistakes. Thanks to Christina and Tom for all of your help!

Tell us your names and a little about yourselves.

Ryland: My name’s Ryland Blackinton and I play guitar.

Alex: I’m Alex Suarez and I play the bass guitar.

I’m really sorry, but I have to ask this question. How did you come about with the name Cobra Starship?

Ryland: Actually, Gabe came up with the name. Alex, I don’t know, how did he come up with the name?

Alex: You know that whole story about Gabe going to the desert? Yeah, that’s the story. That’s how we got the name.

Ryland: Check out the video! That’s basically it.

Would you tell us a little bit about those two videos?

Alex: First we did “The Church of Hot Addiction”. They kind of tie in together, because, you know, Gabe went out to the desert for spiritual retreat and while he was out there I guess he found the Church of Hot Addiction and he got bit by a snake and got sent into outer space and this cobra from the future kind of told him he had to start this band Cobra Starship. That’s basically it.

How did it come about that Victoria, Nate, and you two were recruited to Cobra Starship?

Alex: When I moved to New York from Florida (Ryland and I already knew each other), we made another band together called Ivy League. I met the drummer from Midtown, Rob, who was my neighbor pretty much, and he introduced me to Gabe and we became friends, and he saw us play, and he asked us to start this band Cobra Starship. We met Nate when he was the drum tech for Armor for Sleep, and Gabe found Victoria on the Internet, and I actually already knew her through her ex-boyfriend.

So, you guys are still in Ivy League, aren’t you? How is it to be in two bands at once? Is it difficult?

Ryland: We’re focused on both but we’re a lot busier with one than the other, but we’re still recording.

Alex: We’re trying to keep up with both.

Ryland: You’ve got to water the plants, you know what I mean?

Cobra Starship has a unique sound, so what musical genre would you consider yourselves?

Ryland: That’s a tough question.

Alex: Gabe, what musical genre would we consider ourselves?

Gabe: Punk rock Justin Timberlake!

I like that! Where do you get the inspiration to write your music?

Alex: Gabe?

Gabe: I think that the idea for this band was kind of drawn from a lot of influences that we had growing up that weren’t necessarily punk rock but we were all punk rock fans until we started playing so, you know, we wanted to do something just reflecting about music and what it was about like when we were eight and we didn’t even know what it was. It’s just cool. It reminds me of Sound Machine.

What bands were you all in before Cobra Starship?

Alex: Gabe was in a band called Midtown. I played in a shitty screamo band called Kite Flying Society. It was awesome.

Ryland: I’ve been in so many bands, I don’t even know.

What has motivated each of you to be part of the music scene?

Alex: Love for music, I guess.

Ryland: The kids get really excited about shows, so that’s motivating.

Yeah, there are a lot of kids out there that wanted me to say hi to you.

Ryland: Yeah, that’s awesome! All of those little things are very motivating. It’s very self-contained in that way. It motivates you to keep doing it, which motivates you for it. It’s a great cycle.

Alex: Playing a show of any size is motivating, you know? Even when we were in other bands and we would play shows in tiny basements it was just as nerve-wracking just playing a show for seventy five people as it would be playing for six thousand people.

Not many people play the keytar. Do you know how Victoria got into playing the keytar?

Ryland: (jokes) She doesn’t actually play it.

Alex: I think the keytar kind of plays her.

Ryland: She doesn’t even play it. She’s all digital. She’s not even real. Victoria’s an idea. She’s not a person. Haha. No, I don’t know, it’s really just an inverted keyboard.

Alex: It’s not even a keyboard. There’s a whole different machine that runs the sound.

Ryland: There’s more glamour than genius involved.

I’ve really rarely seen people playing keytars.

Ryland: Don’t be surprised if you start seeing them a lot more. I think that a trend has been set.

How did it come about that Cobra Starship did a song for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack?

Alex: Atlantic released the soundtrack for that, and we’re a subsidiary for Atlantic, so we got in for that one when they asked us to do a song. We’re all huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans.

Can we expect any other videos from While the City Sleeps We Rule the Streets?

Alex: That’s a good question. We have a concept for the next video, which I can’t explain obviously.

I’m really interested in the storyline you have going on.

Alex: I think this one will be a little bit different, and I’m curious to see how it will actually turn out.

What do you plan to do as a band following your tour with the Academy Is… this summer?

Alex: Yeah, we’re going to Australia, and to Japan as well. It’s gonna be awesome, because we’re bros with them [The Academy Is…] to begin with. We’ve gotten much closer with them on this tour as well. It’s gonna be a good time.

Ryland: We’re working on writing demos for the next record.

I’m sure a lot of people will be excited about that! What song gets the best reaction when you play it live?

Ryland: Snakes on a Plane.

Are you guys going to be playing that tonight?

Alex/Ryland: Yes!

What do you do in the part of the song where Travie raps?

Ryland: You’ll be surprised. Someone else will be filling the shoes, and will be doing a very good job.

What do you think of having your own fan club, the Cobra Clan?

Ryland: Oh, it’s great! It’s awesome great. Great kids!

Alex: We have a really good fan club.

Ryland: Don’t forget about Cobra Clanada.

Alex: We have Cobra Clanada, and the original.

Ryland: OCC, the Original Cobra Crew.

Alex: There are some whole different branches of the fan club.

Ryland: There are some battles going on between them, some bloodshed.

Alex: Civil war, you know?

Ryland: We’re trying to explain to them, though, that they should all join one another and not fight one another. Unfortunately, though, that’s kind of what happens.

Alex: Sometimes it’s violent.

Can you explain your hand signal?

Alex: It’s a cobra. There’s fangs and then a hood, see?

Oh, is that what it is? That’s awesome!

Alex/Ryland: Thank you.

Bands don’t really have hand signals a lot.

Alex: I think we’re more like a gang.

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What would you say to your fans that you haven’t yet had a chance to meet?

Alex: We look forward to meeting you. We try to meet everyone as much as possible!

And all of those people out there that told me to say hi to you, what would you like me to tell them?

Awesome! They’ll be really excited about that. They’ve been yelling at everyone coming in and out of the venue.

Ryland: Oh, really? Awesome.

Alex: It’s kind of hard to hear in here because of the sound from all of the buses.

Thanks so much for taking the time for an interview! Good luck tonight!

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Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: Alex-Suarez, Cobra Starship, Gabe-Saporta, Ivy-League, Ryland-Blackinton

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