COBER: Crashpilot

Cober

Crashpilot

© 2000 Sheila V. Bommakanti (659057172521)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

This debut album from Cober is filled with emotion-rich layers of melodic guitar sweeping through passionate female vocals.

tracks

1 Call it what it is....call it what you want
2 After Dark
3 The Milky Way
4 Nightlight
5 Winnebago
6 Crashpilot
7 Handprints
8 Quicksand
9 Bonus Track
10 Bonus Track
11 Bonus Track
12 Bonus Track
13 Bonus Track
14 Bonus Track
15 Bonus Track
16 Bonus Track
17 Bonus Track
18 Bonus Track
19 Bonus Track
20 Bonus Track
21 Bonus Track
22 Bonus Track
23 Bonus Track
24 Bonus Track
25 Bonus Track
26 Bonus Track
27 Bonus Track
28 Bonus Track
29 Bonus Track
30 Bonus Track
31 Bonus Track
32 Bonus Track
33 Bonus Track
34 Bonus Track
35 Bonus Track
36 Bonus Track
37 Bonus Track
38 Bonus Track
39 Bonus Track
40 Bonus Track
41 Bonus Track
42 Bonus Track
43 Bonus Track
44 Bonus Track
45 Bonus Track
46 Bonus Track
47 Bonus Track
49 Bonus Track
50 Bonus Track
51 Bonus Track
52 Bonus Track
53 Bonus Track
54 Bonus Track
55 Bonus Track
56 Bonus Track
57 Bonus Track
58 Bonus Track
59 Bonus Track
60 Bonus Track
61 Bonus Track
62 Bonus Track
63 Bonus Track
64 Bonus Track
65 Bonus Track
66 Bonus Track
67 Bonus Track
68 Bonus Track
69 Bonus Track
70 Bonus Track
71 Bonus Track
72 Bonus Track
73 Bonus Track
74 Bonus Track
75 Bonus Track
76 Bonus Track
77 Bonus Track
78 Bonus Track
79 Bonus Track
80 Bonus Track
81 Bonus Track
82 Bonus Track
83 Bonus Track
84 Bonus Track
85 Bonus Track
86 Bonus Track
87 Bonus Track
88 Bonus Track
89 Bonus Track
90 Bonus Track
91 Bonus Track
92 Hidden Track

notes

"Smashing debut makes you long to hear from Cober again and again" --Tom Scanlon, The Seattle Times

"Melodic, edgy, and passionate--everything you want from a modern-guitar album. Bravo!"--Michael Molenda, Editor-In-Chief, GUITAR PLAYER

The Stranger (3/21/2002)

COBER (Central Saloon) Sheila Bommakanti is not a large person. Kind of small, really. But she brings a brimming, compelling talent to bear as the leader of Cober, a local rock band you need to know about. Bommakanti, an accomplished guitarist, songwriter, and arranger who sings out the top of her head, recombines several unlikely musical strands into an unprecedented amalgam: the loping, effects-laden dread of such circa-1981 Brit postpunks as the Comsat Angels and the Cure of "A Forest"; the single-minded power and desolate beauty of "Fade to Black"-era Metallica; and the whisper-to-wail vocal palette that made the early Kat Bjelland (of Babes in Toyland, lest we forget) so riveting. Cober's album Crashpilot contains eight addictive songs and a lovely nine-minute closing instrumental (hidden at track 92, in case you get confused!). I'd rank it as the best Northwest debut since the eponymous Jessamine and Sleater-Kinney albums of 1995, if not the inaugural releases of Built to Spill and Heavens to Betsy (both 1993), all four of which it recalls in its promise and aesthetic clarity. In person Cober is fiercer, heavier, and funnier than on the CD (not even a bit goth, as it happens), so now's the time t'get with it! --TOM KIPP


"Cober's debut CD, Crashpilot, is a beautifully complex mix of alternative rock sounds....her songs speak of lies, ambiguity, and the search for life's purposes, and her startlingly deep, dark voice bounces off the careening chords on her guitar..." --Lisa Tsering, India West

ROCKPILE (7/2002)
The music of Cober--a melodic, goth-influenced band hailing from Seattle--leads one to speculate whether Hole would still be a viable force in rock had Kurt Cobain lived to ghost write his wife's material. As distasteful as it is to mention Courtney Love in reference to any artist with genuine talent, Cober's astoundingly gifted singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sheila Bommakanti has crafted a nearly flawless debut, Crashpilot, sure to remind many of Live Through This-era Hole. With this said, there's so much more going on here. "After Dark," a tale of unrequited love and its subsequent surrender (sample lyric: "I am a victim to myself") shares the cathartic quality of anything found on The Cure's two indispensable '80s albums Seventeen Seconds and Faith. Likewise, a song like "Nightlight" recalls the atmospheric guitar work of Echo and the Bunnymen and early-'80s U2. Odd chord progressions and Bommakanti's incomparably expressive vocals alternating between a seductive whisper, a haunting wail and shades in between nudge the listener further into Crashpilot's disquieting dreamworld in a quietly soul-wrenching way. Just as the languid "Call it What it is" slowly builds in intensity but never quite reaches the point of release, this album leaves its hooks in you beyond repeated spins. --Gail Worley

FAC193 (9/2002) www.fac193.com

The review for this album comes a little late -- it came out in 2000, for God's sake -- but when I first read about this band on another website, I had to check it out.

I'm glad I did.

Cober encapsulates everything that's good about dark, brooding music on its debut full length, Crashpilot. The sound -- exemplified by Sheila Bommakanti's velvety croon and twinkling minor-key guitar choruses -- can easily be compared to bands like Hole, L7 and The Cure. And it has, by more than one lazy music journalist in the past.

But to limit oneself solely to those three bands would be crippling, at best. Sure, Bommakanti (the brainchild and primary instrumentalist behind Cober) comes off as a sort of Courtney Love-hound at times (yes, sometimes more than others). But her voice carries a passion with it that the former Hole front-lady sometimes lacked. When Love screamed, she sounded pissed. When Bommakanti screams, she sounds not only pissed, but hurt, tortured and almost irreparably scarred, to boot. That's important stuff on a rock record: the ability to emote and be a believable cat at the same time. Coupled with Bommakanti's spooky guitars, it's not only believable, it's spectral.

And those guitars: again, sure the arpeggios sparkle like lights in a Disneyland theme ride at night, bringing a decidedly Cure-like feel to the proceedings. Sure, the thump of the minor-key bass brings to mind bands such as Depeche Mode and New Order (albeit without the techno twist). But Bommakanti seems to take an almost militaristic approach to her talent with an effects pedal: every track showcases a new, intriguing sound to be explored and lost in. Like the plot of a Hans Christian Anderson children's story, they supply the subversive thread that the rest of the song seems to follow. Even when she's supplying simple, feedback-drenched bends, she tweaks them like she means it. The result is seamless. It's not in your face. It's just there. Where it's supposed to be.

"After Dark," for example, begins with a Disintegration-era Cure bass riff before a distorted guitar screams in from the distance, wailing and crying like a jilted banshee. "Nightlight," on the other hand, begins with a chiming arpeggiated riff, a lonely ship's bell cutting into a fog-soaked night. And album opener "Call It What It Is..." is a waltz-like number centered around a yearning, delayed guitar riff, evoking the mood of the struggle of the song.

Listening to the album is like getting caught in a pool of molasses. The beats are slow and heavy as all Hell, and the mood is similar to the one you feel after -- and this is a very hackneyed line here -- the one after your best lover's broken up with you. Actually, it's the one you feel a week after, when the hurt takes on a tinge of purple, melancholic hope. Only a little, though. And I mean a smidgeon.

The only real departure from the apocalyptic beats and drudging bass lines is in the upbeat New Wave of "Handprints," but even then the melancholy remains. It's like Bommakanti can't get loss out of her head, and it's driving her interminably and utterly demented. But anyone who's that disturbed couldn't possibly make an album of this breadth and beauty. Could they?


"Crashpilot," the debut album by the Seattle band Cober, reverberates with some of the best qualities of the Cure, Hole, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sonic Youth and Concrete Blonde. But the album is more than recycled alternative rock. The title track drips along like maple syrup, and Sheila Bommakanti's sleepy, seductive voice and slow-motion guitar playing only thicken the molasses. --Lewis Taylor, The Register-Guard

"Cober, gothish Seattle band, is fronted by singer guitarist Sheila Bommakanti who displays a great voice, full bodied and with presence to spare on the debut album, Crashpilot." --Stan Hall, The Oregonian

"Cober may just have invented the artfully pretty wail...."
--Amy Leach, SPLENDID (4/27/2002)
Cober, which at the time of this release consisted solely of Sheila Bommakanti, sounds like a fantasy mixture of various emotionally-troubled artists. There's a heavy dose of The Cure (most notably on the title track), a bit of Garbage (note the vocal effects on "Handprints") and a slew of Hole-esque moments. The main distinction between Bommakanti and Courtney Love is that when Love screams out her lyrics, she's likely to make you cringe, but Bommakanti somehow stays consistently in key, even when she's screaming at the top of her lungs. It's not an easy thing to do; I tried in the car -- it was awful. Cober may just have invented the artfully pretty wail.
There are also notes of the darker, more powerful moments produced by Elysian Fields. "After Dark" sounds very much like a song that would fit nicely on Bleed Your Cedar, were Elysian Fields to take things up a notch.
The album's dark, near gothic tone is in perfect sync with the lyrics -- which, sometimes cryptically, speak of fear, doubt, forgiveness, deception and betrayal. On "Quicksand", Bommakanti sings, "And I see all who loathe / love me / I'm what you hoped I'd never be." She's not a happy-go-lucky type of gal (at least not in the world of making music), but you should be happy to get your hands on Crashpilot. Cober claims to sound unlike most current music, and while there are certain, obvious influences, they're correct in labeling themselves this way. If this album had come out in 1992, there would probably have been a slew of similar artists, but they've all either disappeared or moved on to a new sound. Bommakanti is unique in that not only did she stay true to the sort of music she was inspired to create, but much to our benefit, she perfected it and took it farther than many of her better-known predecessors. --Amy Leach, SPLENDID (www.splendidezine.com)

West Coast Performer (6/2002)
Sheila Bommakanti and Leilani LaGuardia are weeping mistresses of ripe pain and misery. A folk inflection touches Bommakanti's vocal delivery, adding an almost Cowboy Junkies' vibe to the dripping sounds. The effort began as a solo project for the extremely talented Bommakanti (who sings and plays guitar, bass, and mandolin). Now, LaGuardia has joined in on guitars to complete the Cober vision. What is this vision exactly? It involves introspective lyrics about pain, death, and alienation -- everything that makes up a good goth or death rock album. With lyrics such as "All your dreams/Go up in smoke. So breathe this now/Before you go" (from "Handprints"), it isn't surprising that Cober are frequently compared to bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and Mazzy Starr. With Crashpilot, Cober straddles the area between heartfelt singer/songwriter music and the darker side of death rock music. It seems quite appropriate that the gloominess of Seattle can inspire and pervade songs such as "Crashpilot," This title song laments knowledge about something you would rather not be privy to. As talented as these women are (and if the album is any indication, they have this in spades), Crashpilot feels alone in its delivery. The effort leaves an aftertaste as if Cober blew their entire wad at the racetrack to make their first, and only, album. Of course, this is merely conjecture. Time will tell if Cober has more tricks up their sleeve to share with the public. --Mai Le, West Coast Performer (www.performermag.com)

Crashpilot is a dark and forceful record that features Sheila V. Bommakanti performing all of the musical duties (vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin) with the exception of drums. Bommakanti's guitar playing brings to mind The Cure (especially the songs "Nightlight" and "Crashpilot") with a lethargic pace that lends cause to her equally sluggish vocals which come out with a seductive haze, as though she is emerging from a sedative / alcohol-induced sleep. Peaking only occasionally with ferocity, Bommakanti's vocals are punctuated by muted moans, with enunciation reminiscent of Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) and Chan Marshall (Cat Power). The music of Cober is quite painful - but in a good way - almost like a horrible workout that leaves you sore and grouchy, but eventually builds wonderful, gorgeous muscles.

- Nicole Seredszun, SYNTHESIS


My Bloody Valentine meets Sonic Youth with a touch of Low, a sliver of early Veruca Salt, a bit of Babes in Toyland and a scream or two in the name of Courtney Love with a whole lot of early Cure in Cober (aka Sheila V. Bommakanti) debut Crashpilot. A lesson in patience, Crashpilot is an 8 track collection of mid-tempo, electric-guitar and drum driven tunes where Sheila's syrupy but strong vocals make for a series of crescendos and crashing always accented by a strong, steady beat that in it's repetition, drills into you like a never-ending dream....Thick as molasses and rich in dreamy downers Crashpilot is a great retrospective thumbs up to some of the great core alternative bands of the 80's with Sheila doing the job of an entire crew. Lose yourself in the seductive voice of Cober while drifting off in the repetitions of the early Cure meets Sonic Youth guitars of this indie wonder. College radio and modern rock stations should be sharing "Handprints" while I drift away in the title track "Crashpilot" & "Winnebago." "Quicksand," the spooky finale only left me raging for more and we'll be sure to catch Cober playing here in her hometown of Seattle.

--Melyssa Harmon, Get Fancy! Magazine


Cober is :
Sheila Bommakanti - guitars + vocals

Thanks for checking Cober out at CD Baby! Visit the website at www.cober.org and drop me a line........

-Cober

reviews

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  • My most beautiful discovery!
    author: Tim Turpis

    Cober? It's the rare kind of sound that makes your happiness happier and your sadness sweet! While Gothic sound is drying out, getting cooler, colder and vacuous (instead of darker, deeper and expressive), it is more than a pleasure, IT IS AN EVENT to listen to this unobtrusive but inventive guitar sound (à la "The Cure" but sui generis) and this warm, straight, impressive female voice (à la nothing I have heard before:-)). I am no jingo/chauvinist but Cober is the very first PURE female band (or artist) I discovered so far, who compose, write lyrics and produce their own sound delivering more than a disc with a cute one hit wonder between nine gap fillers. (Most female artists have male support doing the background work, incl. Björk, Portishead, Garbage, Skunk Anansie - yes, I like them, too).. But thank God, Sheila Bommakanti and Lelani LaGuardia resisted us! "Crashpilot" is my most beautiful discovery of 2001, including all purchases in offline (mainstream) stores. No gap fillers, literally a "compact" disc. I bow my head. TimTurpis of Switzerland

  • Highly intoxicating and soul grabbing music.
    author: Jessica Ocasio Of Gothicvixen.net

    Crashpilot is 8 tracks of beautifully melodic modern rock. Front women Shelia lets passionate and emotional vocals spill from her mouth and straight into the listeners heart. When I first heard COBER they reminded me of Radiohead with female vocals. Highly intoxicating and soul grabbing music. I am quite honestly at a loss for words accurate enough to describe just how blatantly incredible this band is. Please take a visit over to their website to experience COBER for yourself.

  • Show review: Cober hits Portland, Oregon!
    author: Jett Black / Nocturnal Movements

    I finally had a chance to catch Seattle-based COBER performing live and I didn't even need to travel far at all! They came to me!! (Ain't that schweet, or what?!) Okay, so I did have to drive down into downtown Portland, park and walk to the newly re-modeled and improved Ash Street Saloon... no schweat off my back... and I agree with the improvements. Sound tech is still pretty clueless.. but the stage has much better focus and lighting than ever before... much like Berbati's without as much floor space. Sheila not only pours her heart and soul into the audio you'll find on this cober order page, she packs it in with a pitchfork! What you hear here you can expect amplified (no pun intended... it was LOUD) and illustrated by three guitarists on stage who completely mesh with the music they unleash and drive into it like a bat outta hell flying through a thunderstorm! Pelting the audience with pain and angst and thunderous guitar riffs, Cober grinds into the grooves with a sexy style that true guitar rock fans will certainly appreciate. What's better than a strong shot of Cober? try a DOUBLE SHOT!! Cober went on last night to also perform a set at Mt. Tabor... which for those at home reaching for the Musician's Atlas is also located in Portland, Or. not terribly far from Ash Street Saloon, but too far to stagger or even walk briskly. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for my NEXT dose of Cober! My advice to you is to check out the audio files available here and write a few words about the music. buy a copy and listen to it ALL! And while you're waiting on CD BABY and USPS to mail you your own personal copy of Cober, check out more details available on Cober at www.cober.org

  • finally some people that are not wasting my oxygen
    author: Keemo

    music that is not the same reproduced crap of the last few years--it in no way sounds like a fake boy group or a commercial-they might actually be real people with emotions creating art instead of media propaganda, buy it and maybe you too can grow a brain--KEEMO FOR CANCER its goood

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