Cobra Starship - !Viva La Cobra!
Cobra Starship
!Viva La Cobra!
Release Date: October 23rd, 2007
Label: Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance
Review by Jared Stossel
According to legend, Gabe Saporta - the tall leading man behind pop-punk act Midtown - came to a crossroads in 2005. He went on a “vision quest” in the deserts of Arizona, smoked a lot of peyote, and spent time with Native American tribes. From here, he created a vision for a brand new band, far from his Drive-Thru Records roots, one that would blend synths, hip-hop, rock, and pop music.
Or, so the story goes. I have no idea if any of that is true, but it’s the story that Saporta has run with for many years, and I choose to belive it as the origin story for Cobra Starship, the band that I consider what of the poster children for what I would call “the neon scene”. While the band was initially known as “the band that wrote the song for the Snakes on a Plane movie”, Saporta proved that they were here to stay, at least for awhile. The next album from Cobra Starship after their debut, While The City Sleeps, We Rule The Streets, needed to stand out. !Viva La Cobra! is the most electro-pop record in Cobra Starship’s catalog. Yes, they would improve upon their dance-rock capabilities a few years later with the release of Hot Mess, but !Viva La Cobra! was a statement that this was a band that was here to fucking party.
The eleven tracks on !Viva! were written by the band in the back of their tour bus while opening for Fall Out Boy in the summer of 2007. As the poster boys of the scene headlined to thousands of fans every single night, Cobra was first on the bill, kicking things off right, but leaving tons of time throughout the day to come up with new material. They paired with Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, recorded a number of demos in the back of the bus, before Stump took the band to Mission Sound Studios in Brooklyn for twenty days to lay it all down (Stump’s soulful vocal runs can be heard throughout many songs on the album).
The album fluctuates from dance rock anthems (“The City Is At War”, “Guilty Pleasure”) to Latin-infused rock (“Smile For The Paparazzi”), from saccharine-sweet electropop (“Kiss My Sass”) to 70s-inspired funk (“Pleasure Ryland”). “Damn You Look Good And I’m Drunk (Scandalous) features an appearance from hip-hop trio V.I.P., hamming it up and encapsulating what clubbing in the 2000s felt like. Every song is distinctly different, yet all fall under the umbrella of “soundtrack to the party at the end of the world.”
All of these songs are only further accentuated by the album’s cover, featured Saporta in the signature American Apparel purple-shaded hoodie that would become synonymous with the Cobra Starship brand. It’s funny, yet even with his face on the front of the album, it never takes itself too seriously. Cobra Starship would cement themselves as the kings and queens of the party scene with !Viva La Cobra!, keytars in hand and all. Fangs up.
