When they formed back in 2006 as a one-off group to record a song
for the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack, Cobra Starship’s
aspirations were slight. Former Midtown singer Gabe Saporta gathered
some of his old emo pals for a lark. Now, after three albums, Cobra
Starship are a full-time band, and their squiggly synth-pop sounds a
lot more committed than most of the music played by Saporta’s friends
these days. The group still can’t go very far without an inside joke
(“Pete Wentz Is the Only Reason We’re Famous”) or a cheerleading
singalong (“Nice Guys Finish Last”). And Hot Mess’ over-glossed
production is so sleek it borders on sterile. But “Good Girls Go Bad”
is deservedly a hit, all hook and monster synths, plus some sticky
vamping by Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester. They may still
be looking out for the punch line, but Cobra Starship are getting
seriously good at this.
— Michael Gallucci
This article appears in Aug 19-25, 2009.
