Cobra Starship
Over the past few weeks many users have grabbed their pitchforks and lighted their lanterns over Cobra Starship, more specifically lead man Gabe Saporta. Whether it’s the awful cover art to his bands third album, Hot Mess, his role with Millionaires, neon clothes, Gossip Girl, or licking Pete Wentz’s face, he has found himself plenty of controversy. But this is not one of those reviews that whines about Midtown and Millionaires and Gossip Girl. In fact, I’m glad Saporta has found happiness making mindless dance-pop music.
Just because I think Hot Mess is awful in every sense of the word doesn’t give me the right to hate him for his happiness. Who am I to take that away from him?
I mean, if producing music that sounds like a Britney Spears b-side (Nice Guys Finish Last; already in contention for Worst Song of 2009) gets him going, awesome! And if songs that feature sing-alongs (“Good Girls Go Bad” featuring Gossip Girl Leighton Meester) that sound like they came from Bring It On! (and not the one with Kirsten Dunst) gives him his jollies, then I say good for you, Gabe, good for you.
Sadly, unless you normally dress in neon clothes and/or worship everything Decaydance touches (or you’re this guy), you probably won’t derive much joy from Hot Mess. There a few glimpses of enjoyment, as “Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We’re Famous” features some energy and urgency not heard since their debut, While The City Sleeps, We Rule The Streets. “You’re Not In On The Joke” features some TTTYG-era Wentz screaming, so if you’re into that, you’ll dig this track (at least the last 50 seconds). My favorite two parts of the album are the sweet old-school vibe of “Wet Hot American Summer,” and when B.o.B drops a verse on “The World Will Never Do.” But these glimpses are few and far between on Hot Mess.
Some tracks take on somber vibes, like “Fold Your Hands Child,” which is a cheesy anthem about going and achieving all your dreams, while “The Scene Is Dead; Long Live The Scene” features a catchy lightweight chorus amongst boring verses. But most of the time, Hot Mess is pumping out fast dance numbers that sound the same, as Saporta tells us that A. he makes good girls go bad, B. you need to get your ass out on the floor and dance till you die, or C. how awesome he is (main culprits: the title track, “Move Like You Gonna Die, “Good Girls Go Bad”).
The final nail in the coffin of Hot Mess is what I just mentioned: the lyrics. They are painful; singing about having a crew, his boo’s, and the like are cringe worthy. We know Saporta can write good lyrics (his former life is especially evident of this), but the writing on Hot Mess isn’t cutting it, as it is mostly pure fluff.
All in all, Hot Mess will probably be Saporta’s biggest hit in his music career, as first single “Good Girls Go Bad” continues to climb the charts. That’s great news for Gabe Saporta, and I’m happy he has found that success he has been craving. It’s just too bad it has to come in the form of this, as his success will leave an empty feeling for many who have been following him from the very beginning. Hot Mess is just repetitive music that has been rehashed. In fact, when I asked our resident Cobra expert, anamericangod, what he thought, he reiterated my point, “This is the recognition, attention, and success that old school Saporta fans have always felt he deserves, but nobody would have ever imagined that this is the product it would come from. With Hot Mess, Cobra Starship show us that, truly, Nothing Is Ever What It Seems.”
Review By AbsolutePunk
Artist: Cobra Starship
Album: Hot Mess
Genre : Electronic / Pop / Pop Punk
Myspace : www.myspace.com/cobrastarship
- Tracklist -
1. “Nice Guys Finish Last” 3:37
2. “Pete Wentz Is the Only Reason We’re Famous” 3:03
3. “Good Girls Go Bad” (featuring Leighton Meester) 3:17
4. “Fold Your Hands Child” 3:13
5. “You’re Not In on the Joke” 3:31
6. “Hot Mess” 2:52
7. “Living in the Sky with Diamonds” 3:20
8. “Wet Hot American Summer” 3:49
9. “The Scene Is Dead – Long Live the Scene” 2:44
10. “Move Like You Gonna Die” 3:49
11. “The World Will Never Do”
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A Rocket To The Moon
A Rocket to the Moon is still a very new act to hit the scene. The project started in 2006, though at that point it was just current singer Nick Santino creating catchy electro/acoustic ditties and posting them to Myspace . The rest, as they say, is history. He quickly hit it big and got recognized by Pete Wentz’s Decaydance label. From there, Santino formed a band and began opening for acts like The Morning Light and Cute is What We Aim For.
On Your Side, A Rocket To the Moon’s latest release, is a radical departure from Santino’s previous work. Most of this change can be attributed to the transition from solo act to full-fledged band, but thankfully most of the charm of ARTTM’s older work survived the metamorphosis. It would be a stretch to call the change a genre-shifting betrayal (though some would disagree), but there is a clear lack of synth in the project’s current form. While Santino relied on it heavily in his solo work, it’s now used instead to compliment some of their more layered songs like “Dakota” and “Sometimes”.
ARTTM aren’t setting out to define the genre, but they experiment within the established conventions and come up with some worthwhile results. Not all tracks are worth your time, though. Some of the more stripped down tracks like “On a Lonely Night” and “Baby Blue Eyes” slow the pace to a creeping halt, and the album isn’t quite strong enough to recover. While it is nice to see Santino hearken back to the project’s roots, it fails to flow with the tone of the album.
Santino and ARTTM had quite a bit of hype to live up to. For some out there, expectations were probably met. For the rest, they’ll have to accept the fact this album is far from flawless and suffers from some damaging low points. On the brightest moments of the album, ARTTM impresses more than most acts of their ilk, but unfortunately those moments fade all too soon.
Review By DecoyMusic
Artist: A Rocket To The Moon
Album: On Your Side
Genre: Powerpop / Electronica / Experimental
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/arockettothemoon
- Tracklist -
01) Annabelle
02) Mr. Right
03) She’s Killing Me
04) On a Lonely Night
05) Dakota
06) Life of the Party
07) Like We Used To
08) Where Did You Go?
09) Sometimes
10) Baby Blue Eyes
11) Give a Damn
12) On Your Side
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Breathe Electric
Hailing from Chicago , Illinois , Grant Harris formed electro-pop outfit Breathe Electric in 2007 and soon after released the debut self-produced EP Honestly. Harris quickly gained momentum with extensive touring playing alongside bands such as Never Shout Never, The Secret Handshake and Automatic Loveletter to name a few, as well as dates on this past summer’s Vans Warped Tour transforming each show into a non-stop dance party. Within a year, Honestly would sell over 20,000 single downloads from iTunes and 5,000 physical copies independently through touring, online retailers including Smartpunk.com, and Hot Topic locations across the country.
After garnering recognition from various established music webzines including Absolutepunk.net and being noted as a “Buzz Seeker” artist on The Daily Chorus, Harris entered into the studio with Producer Ian Kirkpatrick to record the latest installment of infectious pop that would become the Emotion EP.
The album opens with the title track that immediately grasps the listener with an upbeat anthem that sets the tone for the record. The EP continues with a guest appearance by Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T’s on the song “What Would You Say?” only solidifying the band’s indie/pop credibility. Songs like “The Average” and “Let Go” are sure to start a dance epidemic with catchy sing-a-long choruses bringing the party to your stereo. Breathe Electric’s diverse sound is showcased with “The Best Of All” and the closing epic “The Endless Fight” which both display Harris’ dynamic range and ability to combine everything from electro-pop to indie rock.
Breathe Electric, which tours as a full band, will continue to tour in support of Emotion bringing their energetic live show to a town near you. Be sure to check out Breathe Electric’s MySpace page for their current tour schedule and updates from the band here.
Review By Frantik News
Artist: Breathe Electric
Album: Emotion EP [2009]
Genre: Electronic/Pop/Dance
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/breatheelectric
-Track List-
1. Emotion
2. What Would You Say
3. The Best Of All
4. Let Go
5. The Average
6. The Endless Fight
I See Stars
It’s a rare occurrence that a band is able to seemingly reinvent a genre overnight, let alone accomplish such a task on a debut. Leave it to I See Stars to set the bar just a bit higher. This six-piece electronic/screamo hybrid has been the object of a massive amount of hype and with good reason. Vocalist Devin Oliver leads the charge with a vocal prowess much akin to that of current Saosin front-man Cove Reber, and he is a mere 16 years old! Devin’s sheer talent, be it his soon-to-be trademark shrills, or his ability to craft wholesome, intelligent lyrics, along with support of the remaining members, who’s ages also average around 16, is sure to put similar bands that have been at it for many years to shame.
Just three notes into 3D, Devin’s vocals light the air and I See Stars blows the doors open with “Project Wakeup”, an extremely guitar driven song laced with a mesmerizing synth backing. The track displays the versatility of Devin’s voice with the various transitions from a peaceful swoon to a violent, yet controlled, scream. One thing immediately noticed throughout the album is how masterfully the keys blend in, as similar bands have the tendency to abuse it’s use, while on 3D, every key is in balance and makes sense. The title track from the album, “3D,” will likely be the record’s first single, and really explores the vocal skill of the 16-year-old front man. Significantly more upbeat than the other songs alongside a real danceable melody, it is perhaps the most structurally sound song on the album. The rest of 3D follows suit, with each track as infectious and captivating as the last, playing out like an album of an already well established and recognized band, rather than a group of teenagers.
It’s clear that I See Stars has a long and bright future ahead of them. Having already shared the stage with the likes of scene heavyweight’s A Skylit Drive and Dance Gavin Dance, this youthful band is prepped and ready to take the world by storm. The album is being received strongly thus far throughout the critical world, and most of it’s acclaim can be attributed to the extremely strong vocals on the album. Though they are still young, one can only hope with a such an awe-inspiring debut, they will blossom into something truly amazing. 3D is merely step one of I See Stars plot to take over the world! Believe the hype, and while you’re at it, chalk one for Sumerian. The revolution is now.
Artist: I See Stars
Album: 3D [2009]
Genre: Electronic / Screamo
MySpace: http://myspace.com/iseestarsmusic
-Track List-
1. Project Wakeup
2. The Common Hours
3. 3D
4. I Am Jack’s Smirking Revenge
5. Save The Cheeleader
6. The Big Bad Wolf
7. Where The Sidewalk Ends
8. Comfortably Confused
9. Sing This!
10. Interlude: The Ocean
11. What This Means To Me
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Cash Cash
I remember when I was in eighth grade, a teacher once told my class about how trends worked in cycles. This was at a time when everyone wore baggy pants with chains hooked to their wallets, and he demonstrated his point by showing a picture of someone from the twenties wearing something similar to what everyone was wearing in my school. And this seems to be true of trends in music, like Cash Cash’s full-length debut off Universal Republic, Take it to the Floor.
The album, while recycling the four songs from their self-titled EP released last October, has eight new songs full of sugary hooks, sing-along choruses, and sexual-innuendo galore thanks to frontman Jean-Paul Makhlouf. Along with poppy instrumentation, following the less-is-more ideal, via Makhlouf, his brother Alex on keyboards, Sam Frisch on bass, and drummer Anthony Villacari. The understandably noticeable parts come from Alex Makhlouf’s synth hits in songs like “Your Love” and “Sugar Rush.” The parts stand out enough to pull your attention away from his brother’s singing, but not so much as to make you ignore them.
Songs with the most single potential are “Party in Your Bedroom,” which is no surprise seeing as it was also a huge song off of their EP, and “Your Love.” These songs utilize what a lot of radio friendly bands are using today. Giving a nod to bands like Panic at the Disco, back when they still used the exclamation point in their name and didn’t invade their parents’ Beatles collections, and the Arrival. Cash Cash use plenty of digital instruments and vocal hooks that you’ll find yourself singing hours after you’ve finished listening to the record.
This band is a classic case of the recycled trends discussion. For those old enough to remember, this band brings to mind groups like Aha, Corey Hart (via “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night”), and Germany’s Kraftwerk if they had more of a pop sensibility. And while a lot of contemporary rock and pop artists are doing similar work, certainly none are making songs as memorable and epic as these tunes.
The negative aspects of this record, while they are few and basically a matter of taste. The things I found discouraging about their EP remain the same on the full-length: there just seems to be too many artificial instruments played on the record. Or, maybe, it’s just too much of it sounds like it’s played through a synth or a computer. On the flip side of the argument, the one song on the record that sounds like they’re all playing their own instruments, “Concerta,” just doesn’t fit. Where every song gives a retro, eighties vibe, this song sounds more like a song written by Jesse Lacey and Martin Johnson. It’s a catchy, attention-grabbing, emo-influenced tune, however it just doesn’t sound like it belongs on the record because of how it lacks a digital influence.
Regardless of the tiny problems, this is an outstanding debut LP from a young, talented group of Garden Staters. For those who are looking for a new band that writes big hits, or for those nostalgic for the days when it was cool to wear your sunglasses at night, this band will deliver, without disappointment, exactly what you’re looking for.
Review By AbsolutePunk.Net
Artist: Cash Cash
Album: Discography [2009ish]
Genre: Electronica / Pop / New Wave
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/cashcash
-Tracklist-
01) Breakout
02) Sugar Rush
03) Party in Your Bedroom
04) Cash Cash
05) Can’t Stop Looking
06) Electric Hearts
07) Interlude
08) Concerta
09) Two Days Old
10) Your Love
11) Radio
12) Dynamite
And Also For You ‘Fans’
Try EP: CASH CASH – SELF-TITLED