Unglued Reviews

Not a joke band – despite the single Bring It (Snakes On A Plane) from the dubious Samuel L. Jackson film – yet certainly not taking themselves too seriously, Cobra Starship is a vehicle for Midtown vocalist/bassist Gabe Saporta that finds him shying away from the emo-punk of his other band in favour of ridiculous dance-rock.

The crackly, stripped-down vocal and guitar of introductory track Being From New Jersey Means Never Having To Say You’re Sorry bears no resemblance to the following ten songs. Instead, group mastermind Saporta sets the controls for the heart of the pelvis with the processed synth punk of Send My Love To The Dancefloor, I’ll See You In Hell (Hey Mister DJ) and stays there whether offering the hyper energetic It’s Warmer In The Basement or the hypnotic, measured The Kids Are All F***ed Up.

Kinetic The Church Of Hot Addiction finds Saporta cheekily big-noting himself (“I am the drug you can’t deny, tonight G A B E gonna get you high”), while bilingual The Ballad Of Big Poppa And Diamond Girl builds a modern pop culture mythology with a chorus featuring the lines, “I’ll be your Biggie, you’ll be my Li’l Kim”.

Keep It Simple is an unexpected co-write with indie rock fave Ted Leo that nonetheless fits the disco-punk album perfectly, and the snappily titled Pop-Punk Is Sooooo ’05 appropriately features Fall Out Boy’s Joe Trohman on guest guitar.

However, it’s not the guests that make the album a winner so much as its unabashed, irresistible sense of fun.

Owen Heitmann