Backstage Pass

Cobra Starship is no joke band, even if it does get pretty funny.

The side project of Midtown's Gabe Saporta trades the voice-quivering drama and super-intense rock of his regular band for a more lighthearted, groove-oriented style on the debut "While the City Sleeps, We Run the Streets" (Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen).

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Saporta has already secured a new audience with Cobra Starship's first single, "Bring It," the guitar-driven dance-rock theme from Samuel L. Jackson's "Snakes on a Plane" that also features pals Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes, William Beckett from The Academy Is ..., and Maja Ivarsson from The Sounds.

Cobra Starship, however, has much more to offer than that. "While the City Sleeps, We Run the Streets" is loose, a bit funky and so-not-serious. One minute, Saporta is biting a bit of Madonna's "Music" for the chorus of "Send My Love to the Dancefloor, I'll See You in Hell (Hey Mr. DJ)" - a song that somehow bounces among a U2-ish opening, '70s synth whistles and an '80s new wave bass line - and the next he is revving up the infectious "The Church of Hot Addiction."

Strong hooks on dance songs "It's Amateur Night at the Apollo Creed" and "The Kids Are All -- Up" let Cobra Starship surpass new-new-wave bands like The Bravery and The Rapture at warp speed. Saporta's hooks also work well on rockers like the emo-skewering "Pop-Punk is Sooooo '05" ("You're just a boy who's afraid of the dark," Saporta sneers), while the new single "It's Warmer in the Basement" is as catchy as anything his Fall Out Boy pals have come up with yet.

When Saporta says Cobra Starship's mission as "teaching hipsters to not take themselves so seriously and by telling emo kids to stop being [wimps]" or when he encourages the band's fans to "put your fangs up," he may be half-joking. But make no mistake, "While the City Sleeps, We Run the Streets" is completely entertaining. (Grade: A-)

Listen to "While the City Sleeps, We Run the Streets" here
PHOTO: Saporta and friends from Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen