Cober’s music is all about angst. But this is no annoying whining; it’s pure addictive agony draped in black velvet.
The Seattle band’s sophomore album, “the breaker,” more than parallels its first endeavor, “Crashpilot.” Listening to “the breaker” is like eating expensive chocolate cake, except you’ll be crying all over it. The ingredients are expertly interwoven — Mazzy Star-esque vocals providing the icing to smooth, rich layers of guitars, drums and harpsichord.
One of the band’s other stand-out features is that frontwoman Sheila V. Bommakanti does much of the behind-the-scenes work herself. The vocalist and multi-talented instrumentalist wrote all the words and music for both “Crashpilot” and “the breaker.” For “the breaker,” she also co-produced the album with Steve Carter and mixed and mastered the music with Carter and Paul Speer.
When Bommakanti produced “Crashpilot” with Speer, she was the entire band — guitars, vocals, bass and mandolin — with Steve Hill and Neal Speer contributing drum performances to some of the tracks. For “the breaker,” she wisely added guitarist Lelani LaGuardia. Drummer Zach Barnhart also contributed to this album, and Hill returned to lend his expertise on the track “Red Granite.”
Cober may be relatively obscure as of now, but the band’s raw talent provides plenty of potential. It’s refreshing to hear interesting instruments like the mandolin and harpsichord added to the mix, and it makes the music better knowing you’re listening to a glistening secret few people have been lucky enough to discover.
If all this weren’t enough, the album’s deep, intriguing lyrics also make it the perfect break-up soundtrack. Songs from “the breaker” are guaranteed to satisfy even the strongest post-split craving for some indulgently dismal sounds — and Cober is adept at pouring salt on the wounds. For example, the track “Hear Lies” laments, “I am made a fool of in conversations had / Thought I was talking to you, but I’m talking to myself / I may try and act out the parts that you defend / I am not good at this, but its fun to pretend.”
Ahh… let the wallowing begin.
Contact the Pulse editor at [email protected].
Cober’s second album mixes unique instruments
Daily Emerald
November 13, 2002
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