Following the history of The Cobbs takes a bit of a roadmap. This unsigned Philadelphia-based group began as Ty Cobb, a fitting name for a band with members named Ryan Cobb and Paul Cobb. It comes as no surprise that the estate of the legendary baseball player from which the band’s name was taken took legal action against our indie musicians, forcing the band to change their moniker to Mad Action.
After two releases under the Ty Cobb name and several as Mad Action, they took a couple of years off to complete their latest collection of rock greatness, Sing The Deathcapades. Just to add another new direction on the band’s map, they changed names once again, this time to The Cobbs. Their current incarnation includes Ryan and Paul Cobb, along with Chris Coello, Maxwell Lee and Ryan Smith. Together they have recorded an album that has gone fairly unnoticed so far, which is unfortunate, as they deserve plenty of attention for this outstanding collection of tunes.
Quality garage rock rooted in psyche ain’t easy to do, yet with “Lo Chey” they mash the sounds of the Brian Jonestown Massacre with the UK pop sensibility of The Kinks. Add in a bit of psyche guitar and there you have it. They turn up the organs for a BRMC-rocker on “Say You Never Knew Me.” It is dark, a little nasty and easily one of the best tracks on this album. The clouds part a bit, letting some sunny pop into the mix on “Don’t Walk,” featuring one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard in a while. The infectious melody combined with the slightly Middle Eastern guitars is almost like Jason Falkner meets Kula Shaker after listening to a marathon of The Doors. Is your head spinning yet?
The harmony-filled “Go” is another favorite on Sing The Deathcapades. This indie-rock gem should make all the blog kids spazzing out over Ferraby Lionheart beam as this one flows through your headphones. “When The Morning Comes” for some reason or another makes me think of some of the finer moments on Ben Lee’s Breathing Tornados. I admit that is a strange comparison, but there is something about the vocal melody that makes it pop into my head every single time I hear it. Maybe I’m simply losing my mind.
The darkness comes back with a vengeance on “Climb On Top,” a song musically sleazy enough to pull off such a title. If you dig BRMC and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, you will want to give these guys a listen ASAP. They are streaming the entire album on their website, so put on your headphones and give them a listen.
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