7 Easy Pieces

Weighing in at less than 19 minutes in total, the latest release from Detroit Cobras can’t exactly be described as a full album proper, even if they do manage to squeeze in seven blistering tracks in that time. That said, this rollicking hotchpotch of old obscure r’n’b standards and screeching rock guitars could and should catapult Rachel Nagy & Co. into the same league as their other Motor City compatriots, The White Stripes and Brendan Benson.

“When I find that man, I’m gonna take him by the balls and drag him all the way back to town,” deadpans Nagy on the opening ‘Ya Ya Ya’, settling the score for what’s to come. The sub-two minute ‘Secret Agent’ is so infectious, it should come with a Government Health Warning, a slice of super cool retro chic that wouldn’t be out of place in an Austin Powers movie. Then there’s the souped-up skiffle of ‘Heartbeat’, the toe-tappingly brilliant ‘You Don’t Knock’, the bluesy balladry of ‘Silver & Gold’ and the frenetic ’99 And A Half Just Won’t Do’, before the relatively epic (four minutes and 16 seconds) bar-room blues of ‘Insane Asylum’ closes things with aplomb.

OK, so it’s maddeningly short, but 7 Easy Pieces is the leanest, coolest mini-album-sized collection you’re likely to get your sweaty mitts on this year. You could call it the fillet of rock ‘n’ roll.