The Detroit Cobras

Even though garage rockers The Detroit Cobras are technically a “cover band,” don’t expect to see lead singer Rachel Nagy and the gang dressed up as Otis Redding or Percy Sledge. The band’s hallmark is culling through record collections, unearthing unappreciated soul and pop gems, and repackaging them with a grimy distortion and the sort of snarky lead vocalist not seen in ’60s Motown. The result is quick, up-tempo rock, like the Cobras’ updated versions of The Shangri-Las’ “Easier To Cry” or The Ronettes’ “He Did It.” The band has recorded its own songs, like 2005’s “Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat),” though they’re nothing to write home about. The Detroit Cobras are currently working on a new—to them, at least—record, presumably due out sometime in 2012.

Updated 07/03/2012