Album Review: Kobra & The Lotus - Evolution

Kobra & The Lotus are coming off an ambitious project. Not long ago, they put out both "Prevail I" and "Prevail II", one of those double albums that isn't really a double album, that also happened to be released months apart so they could get twice the sales. You know; business. But that aside, those records showed a band that was growing and getting better, with the second installment being the best music I had yet heard from them. I still wasn't completely sold, but they were getting closer and closer to the bullseye. What is surprising now is that the band is back for another album already, since the usual time between releases hasn't been reached, and the last record was actually two records. Did they have enough time to generate enough great ideas for another album already?

To sum it up; yes and no.

The two singles for the album, "Burn" and "Get The F_ck Out Of Here" were regressions to the mean, leaving behind the band's evident growth into a melodic hard rock powerhouse for something far simpler, more generic, and in the case of the latter, pathetically trying to be edgy. Kobra Paige doesn't need to start throwing around f-bombs and middle fingers to get our attention. That she feels the need to use that song to promote the record was the first indication this wasn't going to be another step forward. It was a lapse of judgment, but sometimes those moments are quite telling. I would also put "Thundersmith" in this category, with a lumbering melody, and some obnoxious gang vocals to kick it off. It doesn't fit in with what I know of the band.

When you put the record on, the first song you're greeted with after the introduction is the title track, which is a completely different beast. This one is Kobra singing melodically, using the strengths of her and the band's appeal, and even throwing in a little western guitar lick in the background to give it a bit of flair. Kobra's voice is not gritty, it doesn't sound snarling or dripping with attitude, so it makes far more sense for her to focus on being the melodic counterpoint to the guitars. When they stick to that, which most of the album does, I like them. They just can't help themselves from time to time.

"We Come Undone" and "Wounds" are both fantastic, where the hooks play well with Kobra's voice. Her tone isn't as bright as many women in rock, which means she can get away with going further down the pop/melodic side without it sounding as obvious. They never test the edges of how far they can go, but I don't think it's a coincidence that she sounds the best, and the songs are better, when they aren't trying to be as heavy as possible. So yeah, I would say the ballad "Wash Away" is one of the best songs on the record for that very reason.

So here's where things get a bit dicey, at least as being philosophical goes. The band put out a double record that wasn't well-defined as such, with two records that were almost identical. This album has two sides to the music, which if expanded out, would have made for a double album with distinct identities. But instead, we got two of the same, followed by one kaleidoscope. I would have preferred things turned the other way around, but what will be will be. "Evolution" has a lot of good on it, and plenty of moments where the band is showing how they are still getting better at what they do. Unfortunately, it also has a couple songs that detract from all the good they do. Maybe a bit more time to weed those out would have done the record some good.

"Evolution" is good, but I think I would point you toward "Prevail II" first.