Detroit Cobras slow it down on second album

The group doesn’t record its own original material.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

Misery loves company is how Detroit Cobras singer Rachel Nagy views the love affair between her Motor City band and Northeast Ohio.

“We like Cleveland,” said Nagy, calling from Detroit. “It’s kind of like Detroit, economy-wise, everyone is really hurting. I think Cleveland was No. 1 in America on an economic depression list, and we just surpassed them. So it’s kind of like sisters in agony here.”

On a personal level, Nagy said agony and romantic despair is something she’s been dealing with recently. This explains why the group’s latest album “Tied & True,” which came out earlier this year as the follow-up to 2004’s “Baby,” finds the Detroit Cobras straying into new territories of ambiance.

Specifically, ballads such as “You'll Never Change” and “The Hurt's All Gone” can be found alongside such rockers as “Puppet on a String” and “As Long As I Have You.”

“I don’t know if I’d call them mature, but I think the songs were a little bit more richer and slower,” Nagy said. “There are some rock ’n’ roll songs on there, but there are also kind of sadder, slower songs, which was very nice to do.”

She added, “It was definitely the mood and an intentional thing. It was basically a bunch of stuff I’d been going through, even during ‘Baby,’ and it really came to fruition before and during the recording of this album. It’s just the culmination of some really bad, bad relationships.”

What makes the Detroit Cobras unique is that the group doesn’t record its own material. Aside from lone original track “Hot Dog [Watch Me Eat],” which can be found on “Baby,” the act has made a living reworking Motown, soul and ’50s rock into a modern garage rock sound.

Perhaps in theory, the outfit — which is led by Nagy and guitarist Maribel Restrepo — could be viewed as a cover band, but the singer doesn’t see it that way.

“For a long time, nobody knew we were a cover band unless they were told,” Nagy said. “And we’re really not a cover band. A cover band is like the guys playing Bon Jovi or Creed covers on the weekend at the local bar. Most people don’t know these songs we play.”

As for recording an entire album of original material, Nagy believes the Detroit Cobras have nothing new to add to the discussion. So instead of traveling down a larcenous trail, she prefers to dust off old gems and update them for a new millennium showing. 

“It would be very easy to cobble together a [expletive] whole record and rip off songs,” Nagy said. “I hear people do it all the time. I hear songs verbatim — where every chord is a Beatles song — and it’s like so obvious, shame on you. We could definitely do that, but we choose not to.”

Considering the Detroit Cobras just came off a large tour, the act was planning on staying home for the holidays. Then the offer came in to play a special New Year’s Eve show at the Beachland Ballroom. Nagy said the group couldn’t pass up the notion of spending the holiday with their Rock Hall friends.

“It should be a good time.” Nagy said. “It’s like New Year’s Eve. I’ll be drunk on champagne, so if nothing else, that’ll be fun.”