Hot Mess is the third studio album by the American musical ensemble Cobra Starship, released through Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records on August 11, 2009.

Producers Jacob Kasher Hindlin and Kevin Rudolf assisted Saporta in writing the music, which included an interpolation of the stomping percussion of Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl".

[8] The opening track, "Nice Guys Finish Last", was created as a fusion of Brian Setzer's retro big band style with Adam Ant's new wave hit "Goody Two Shoes".

[9] Other influences on the album include electronic rock band Ratatat throughout,[7] and Arcade Fire's backing vocal style for the song "Fold Your Hands Child".

[9] Britney Spears's "Womanizer" was interpolated in "Nice Guys Finish Last", which resulted in songwriters Raphael Akinyemi and Nikeshia Briscoe of the Outsyders receiving writing credit.

"[15] Tim Sendra of AllMusic called Hot Mess "a complete success and shows that the band could possibly grow past the comedy and become something else entirely.

"[14] Daniel Brockman of The Phoenix gave a generally positive review, stating, "Only a music fan obsessed with the rules of authenticity and the requirements for lyrical profundity could find fault with the 11 odes to overload that make up Hot Mess.

'"[21] Edna Gundersen of USA Today gave the album three stars out of four and stated: "While unquestionably accessible, Cobra's retro, overly flashy Swedish-leaning pop isn't for everyone.

"[23] Bill Lamb of About.com gave the album 4/5 stars, using a comparison to praise; "You went digging around in your parents closet of old vinyl LP's from the 80's, found one with candy-coated colors on the cover, played it on their old turntable and discovered it really wasn't bad.

"[24] A negative review came from Roxana Hadadi of The Washington Post who stated, "If you have the patience to sit still for the album's entirety (about 40 minutes of straight-up torture), we commend you.