Review → Cobra Skulls – Sitting Army (2007)
Cobra Skulls - Sitting Army
The Cobra Skulls hail from Reno, Nevada. The last two bands I paid any attention to (good or bad) from that state were the Killers, and Panic(!) at the Disco. The Killers are alright, but Panic? Not a strong showing from NV, though admittedly both of those bands are from Las Vegas. But if that’s what the Nevada music scene produces, what does it mean for these guys, whose name only reminds me of Cobra Starship, a thoroughly mediocre band (dear Gabe- reform Midtown).
That was a pretty awesome intro, right? Moving on.
Well, the Skulls know how to rock out. Their previous efforts, the Eat Your Babies and Draw Mohammed EPs, were faster and looser than this album; they’ve clearly sharpened their attack between EPs and album.
The first thing you will notice, though, are the titles of the songs. Every one incorporates the words cobra, skull, or both (“Cobra Skullifornia,” “Don’t Count Your Cobras Before They Hatch,” “I’ll Always Be a Cobra Skull (Folk Off!),” etc.). Now, if you’re worried this is reflected in the lyrics, making this little more than a novelty joke album, don’t fret! While “The Cobra and the Man-Whore” namechecks their favorite serpent in the title, the actual line in the song is “the preacher and the man-whore.” The song is about the saga of infamous Evangelical preacher Ted Haggard. The aforementioned “Don’t Count Your Cobras…” is a short (less than 2 minutes) song about the tendency of people so concerned with stopping abortion that they neglect the suffering of other, already-born people. So, clearly, despite the jokey nature of the song titles, the Skulls have some serious issues to talk about.
Of course, ths music is important here, and the band knows how to play some quality, catchy punk rock. They keep things light and bouncy, going acoustic on “I’ll Always Be a Cobra Skull (Folk Off!)” and “Cobracoustic.” And, like any good punk band, they don’t waste time on long solos or such things; the album’s 13 songs clock in at a respectable 29 minutes. All in all, this is a great debut LP from a band that shows a lot of promise.
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