(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)

Death Of Samantha were probably one of the most intellectual rock bands of their generation, and in this they followed in the footsteps of Pere Ubu.

After five years of silence, guitarist John Petkovic reunited the core of the band bassist Dave Swanson (now on drums) and the other guitarist Doug Gillard, to form Cobra Verde. While the inspiration for Viva La Muerte (Scat, 1994) is still an eclectic fusion of garage rock and new wave, an appropriate makeover turns the result this time into a melodic “grunge” of rough lower-class rebels.
At the center of the harmonies remains the guitarist John Petkovic’s phrasing, sometimes nervous and hiccupping, sometimes insistent and spacious, loaded with countless nods to Hendrix, Cream, the Rolling Stones, and many others. Emblematic are Was It Good, whose anthemic chorus is propelled by dissonant syncopations and pierced by a dirty racket, and Already Dead, whose riff is deliberately ugly.
The inspiration stays in those bluesy territories, oscillating at most between ZZ Top’s extreme grit (Gimme Your Heart) and the dragging feel of the Rolling Stones (Montenegro, Debt); yet the execution is so brilliant that nothing feels predictable, least of all the boisterous, drunken hard rock of Despair or the vehement, uncoordinated soul-rock of Cease To Exist. The rhythm is sustained from beginning to end.

The EP Vintage Crime (Scat, 1995), featuring Every God For Himself, follows two highly accomplished singles—the feverish rhythm and blues of Leather (Scat) and the neurotic pop of One Step Away From Myself (Subpop)—and adds six more powerful songs to John Petkovic’s repertoire. The idea is to twist Merseybeat choruses and vocal harmonies with exaggerated harmonies and rhythms, in the spirit of highly irregular hard rock.
By taking The Who’s approach to extremes (melodic growl and whip-crack riffs), Catalogue is born. A shouter’s roar and a Native American-like rhythm derail Wish I Was Here even further.

Cobra Verde had become the backing band for the peak period of Bob Pollard (Guided By Voices) when Egomania (Scat, 1997) was released, a collection of unreleased tracks and singles. The album gives the impression of a group of wild kids, excelling at roaring through the bayou-paced rhythm and blues of Leather and firing off the blazing punk rock of A Story I Can Sell. The atmospheric, experimental harmony of Still Breaking Down harks back to the era of psychedelic rock (the softer style of the Spirit). It is the most commercial song, Everything To You, that disappoints, with its rhythmic progressions and shrill chorus borrowed from David Bowie. While the collection doesn’t quite measure up to the first album (which was truly an album), it still demonstrates the band’s exceptional abilities.

Doug Gillard, in turn, joined Prisonshake drummer Scott Pickering, guitarist Tim Tobias, and bassist Jeff Curtis (My Dad Is Dead) to record under the name GEM the album Hexed (Restless, 1995), featuring simple, straightforward pop that seems to renounce the entire Death Of Samantha school. Sheep opens with a driving riff and charging rhythm, Your Heroes Hate You borrows a lascivious boogie from T. Rex, but then the album slips into the sugary pop of the Raspberries (Only A Loan and Suburban Girl). I Hate It echoes The Who, and Little Star recalls Neil Young. Gillard is not very inspired once separated from Petkovic’s guidance.

John Petkovic joined J Mascis (drums, guitar, vocals), Tim Parnin (guitar), guitar) and Dave Sweetapple (bass) in Sweet Apple that released Love & Desperation (2010), The Golden Age of Glitter (2014), Sing the Night in Sorrow (2017).