The heat wave arrived in Boston with Cobra Man, a self described “power disco” group from Los Angeles, CA. Lost in a simpler time of glitter, synthwave and hairy chests, the band is touring their new EP “New Paradise I,” out on May 19th, the first of two collections from the group coming this year.
Founded by Andy Harry and Sarah Rayne, Cobra Man was born in the mid-2010s as a request for exciting music to accompany skateboard montage videos. Heavily inspired by Talking Heads, DEVO, The B-52s and more, the duo released their first song “Manramp” exclusively for The Worble, a skateboarding outlet. The band continued writing and ended up creating the whole soundtrack for The Worble’s 2017 video, New Driveways, which many consider to be the band’s first full release. The debut album Toxic Planet arrived in 2018, bringing “power disco” to the masses.
With the stage lined with synths, amps and a chain link fence, the band took the stage and ripped immediately into their first big single, “Bad Feeling,” and the crowd immediately joined the fun. A pseudo-mosh pit opened up in the center of the dancefloor, which quickly turned into an interesting mix of moshing and dancing – which makes sense, given the disco-punk sound of the band. Rayne got a chance to step away from her keyboard and interact with the crowd during “Light Me Up,” stepping off the stage to sing and dance with the crowd before she was gracefully lifted back up by two generous fans.
Fans were treated to a very broad rotation of old and new songs; the band played nearly all of their two full-lengths, most of their recent singles and even an unreleased track from “New Paradise I.” While Rayne danced behind the keyboard, Harry ripped through every track like it was his last, covered in leather and studded sleeves. It would also be a shame not to mention their brave and shining saxophone player, who took every opportunity to play his lines straight into the crowd with the energy of a true rockstar. The fun and carefree attitude proved that Cobra Man knows what it means to have fun, but not take yourself too seriously.
The New Paradise Tour continues through May 20th, where the band will celebrate their new release at home – the Fonda Theater in LA.
Listen to Cobra Man here!
Catch Cobra Man on tour here!
