Cobra Skulls are still one of the best punk bands ever

The girl has been yelling at me to update this thing. Apparently when I don't express myself creatively (i.e. making you listen to bands you're otherwise too lame to know about) I'm kind of a bastard. I like to say that it's mostly just the fact that I'm currently obsessed with Avatar and see too much of my 16 year old self in Prince Zuko.

I found my favorite bar in Baltimore tonight. It's the perfect combination of dingy, populated by alcoholics, and a jukebox with Buddy Holly and Wire. Next time you're in town, if you don't drink at Club Charles, you have no soul. (And yeah, it can be a hipster bar, but just don't go when there's an art opening down the street and you'll be fine. Plus John Waters drinks there all the time, and why the fuck would you not want to drink at a place John Waters likes?)

Last night I tried to explain to Andrea why Taxi Driver is such a great movie. "A bad person does terrible things over a 12 year old prostitute" is not exactly a tagline born for movie posters. I oughta stick to Pokemon tips.

ANYWAY, Cobra Skulls just put out a new album that rules so much. It's called American Rubicon and it rocks like you want it to. So many punk bands, when they go for the pop, try to sound like a nasally version of Cheap Trick. Cobra Skulls rock super hard without necessarily sounding like they want to be New Found Charlotte. Also, any anti straight edge song is cool with me. Just because you're catchy doesn't mean you have to go for the sugary choruses. All the melodic nods to Bad Religion ("Muniphobia," "Exponential Times") are perfect in the way that Bad Religion was perfect.

I love the ambling bass lines. I love the chugga-chugga train tom-tom drum lines. I love the half-crooned vocals. I love that it's more ska and rock'n'roll and still more punk rock than anything they've ever done. Best band ever out of Nevada? One step behind MIA, but got-damn, it's close.

HDUI - http://www.mediafire.com/?m0lq2ojgotn

Problems with Preconceptions - http://www.mediafire.com/?1tmgwnm0o2n

Back to the Youth - http://www.mediafire.com/?ziwuknehwny