THE DETROIT COBRAS

Blurring the lines between R&B and R&R and soul, the Cobras are THE go-to party band for those in the know. Singer Rachel Nagy and guitarist Mary Ramirez are the bad girls by the exit doors at the school dance, all leather and heels, sneaking smokes and passing the flask. They have no time for dewy-eyed love songs or girl group decorum; they’ll take care of business themselves with a bat of the eye or an elbow to the kidney. Rachel’s “warm as the half pint of bourbon under the seat of your car” voice can boom to the back pews (Did we say “pews?” We meant “barstools”) and Mary’s riffs let you know that love and good times can be found in the tilt of a hip or at the end of a fist.