Robocobra Quartet - “Chromo Sud”

SXSW 2023 - OEB Score: 9; Popularity Index: 5

Pairs Well With…IDLES, The Comet Is Coming, Black Country, New Road

Striking a fascinating new space, Robocobra Quartet take post-punk grooves and twist them with free-jazz elements. The result is an explosive and building expression deeply woven in its own colors and patterns. With such a visceral, noisy weapon at their disposal, it’s worth noting the patience of their 2022 record Living Isn’t Easy, taking cues from expansive post-rock to grow over the course of multiple minutes within epics like “Chromo Sud” and opener “Flew Close”. They balance sonic ebbs and flows with a speak-sing vocal that is so grounded, it might as well be a conversation between friends, or a confession across a wooden window. With a low soapbox, Robocobra Quartet have a political and sociological bent over Living Isn’t Easy, bouncing between realism and abstract phrases in unexpected ways. Instead of just laying into deep rock grooves, Robocobra Quartet are constantly surprising, giving the air of improvisation across a wide spectrum  of sound. It’s often slow, yet somehow urgent, free-wheeling, with purpose and meaning. Of all new SXSW discoveries for me, Robocobra Quartet have been among the hardest to turn off, like a thrilling TV show with as many questions as answers by episode’s end. (Kevin McStravick)