Kobra: Confusione 12"

You may remember Kobra from a 5-song tape released on Milan's excellent Occult Punk Gang label back in 2018. Not to be confused with the other Italian band from the early 80's or the current rapper who also goes by Kobra. A pit of snakes to step carefully through indeed. "Confusione" comes after a couple of line up changes and sounds way different than the first tape. They channel the spirit of early anarcho-punk and Italian hardcore while still injecting it with their own unique personality. The album tells the story of young broke punks in Milan, always looking for a grift in the system, angry but also full of self-doubt, torn between activism and nihilism.

'Confusione' is 10 songs plus one interlude, 22+ minutes long. It features added saxophone by Luigi Monteanni from ArteTetra records. 150 on translucent red and 350 on black 150gr vinyl housed in a 24pt reverse board jacket with lyric insert and download card. Art by Francesco Goats. Mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air studios.

Our take: Iron Lung brings us another progressive hardcore gem from a band who wasn’t on my radar at all. Milan, Italy’s Kobra released a tape a few years but, according to Iron Lung’s description, their sound has changed since then. On Confusione, Kobra’s tempos are primarily mid-paced, reminding me of Una Best Incontrolable’s brooding approach, at least for the first few tracks. However, as the third song begins, a saxophone holds a long, plaintive note over a crunchy bass riff and the whole vibe of the record changes. While the saxophone doesn’t feature on every track, from here on Confusione feels like an artier affair, much like how Steve McKay walks in on side 2 of Fun House and takes the record up several notches. While there’s a good bit of no wave-ish wailing, the saxophone often locks in with the rest of the band rhythmically, punctuating the songs’ already strong grooves. Lest the word “groove” scare you away, I’ll also note the production here is raw, with a blown-out kick drum sound that’ll connect directly with your lizard brain if you listen on headphones. If you’re into a healthy chunk of the Iron Lung Records discography, Confusione would be the wrong place to jump off the bandwagon.