I’ve always loved Cobra Starship for their fast-paced dance-pop, and their newest album Night Shades is anything but that. It doesn’t seem like the same band at all.

I spent the entire album waiting for the songs to speed up to their normal quick, poppy beat, but I was always let down, as all of them seemed to be in slow motion. I usually like when bands slow down their music and try to write more sappy songs, but for Cobra Starship, these ballad-like songs just fall flat.
The only reason I can see for that is that lead singer Gabe Saporta’s voice isn’t strong enough on its own to sustain a slower song. I now see why the autotune that he normally uses is completely necessary.

Also, keytarist and backup singer (and the only girl in the group) Victoria Asher was a surprising let down in the second to last track “Disaster Boy.” I usually love her interesting twists to each song she gets to sing in, but when she was given a larger part in this track, she was the one that turned out to be the “disaster.”

The only two highlights of the album were the album’s well-known single “You Make Me Feel” featuring Sabi and the following track “1 Nite.” These two songs are second and third on the track list, and after a disappointing first track, I started to think that the album was going to start going uphill. Sadly, the old Cobra Starship feel only lasted for the seven minutes that these songs were playing.

It’s safe to say that Night Shades was a startling disappointment. It’s hard to dissect the album and find what I like about it, since there wasn’t much to pick from.