There's love for the
pop and
rock canons in every note
Cobra Verde write, so a mirthy, clever, and well-played covers set from the Ohio combo isn't any kind of surprise.
"Get the Party Started," well, gets the party started, and the oft-licensed
Pink jam proves its unfailing
pop mettle.
Verde vocalist
John Petkovic channels a particularly lecherous
Greg Dulli as fuzz guitar whines in the background and the (live) percussion bumps along with smutty insistence. A run through
New Order's
"Temptation" isn't as successful, but the band's care in replicating the oohing backing vocals suggests that
Copycat Killers is mostly about fun. Covering a song called
"Underpants" (originally by Cleveland
punk heroes
the Easter Monkeys) suggests that, too.
Cobra Verde add handclaps and sighing harmonies to
the Undertones'
"Teenage Kicks," reinterpret
the Stones'
"Play With Fire" as a moody
cabaret piece, and make
Hawkwind's banned
acid rock head-trip
"Urban Guerilla" sound like it should have always been a vintage
Motown stomper. You got time to bring it down! Other
Copycat Killers highlights: the
space-
disco workover of
Donna Summer's
"I Feel Love" that begs for a
DFA remix, and
Mott the Hoople's
"Rock and Roll Queen" played as straight and ragged as the barroom anthem it always will be. ~ Johnny Loftus
