Robbers On High Street - Fine Lines

When you hear a really confident band, they'll have a swagger that will almost seduce you. From the moment I heard Robbers On High Street's original 5-song demo, I fell in love immediately. First, they have that confidence and swagger, like what the Rolling Stones have or what Guns N Roses had back in the "Appetite" days. Secondly, and what defines them musically, this band sounds exactly like Spoon. I hate to make comparisons between bands but I swear that as soon you hear ROHS you'll think the same thing. Vocalist Ben Troken even sounds like Britt Daniel. But the Robbers do some things that Spoon does differently, giving their songs even more of a jangly, swaggering Beatles' pop sensibility, making them one of the best upcoming bands in NYC. Fine Lines, their first real release, doesn't have all the songs I've come to love through their live performances, but it'll give you a great feeling of what will come on their full length to be released later this year (hopefully). Robbers On High Street seem unphased by the current NYC norm, that is, to be strictly focused on their fashion and wardrobe or the NYC sound. This carelessness feeds into their swagger, immediately noticable from the start of the EP, "Hot Sluts (Say I Love You)." It's just a great opener that drags you into the ROHS world of infectious melodies, fairly original beats, great guitar work and Ben's awesome vocals. By "Debonair," what I consider to be the diamond in this crown, you'll swear you're listening to a brand-new Spoon CD. And I don't mean that negatively towards ROHS; you can obviously tell that Spoon was a major influence for them. They should take comparisons as extreme compliments about their work. The CD ends with the fantastic "If You Let Me," one of my personal live favorites and probably the best song lyrically on the disc. Last year, I was a big fan of Longwave because they had a more slick sound and didn't fall into the same fashion rock category as bands like Interpol or Stellastarr. They did their own thing in NYC, and it paid off. Robbers On High Street should (hopefully) have the same success; maybe not with this EP but definitely with a full length release down the line. They're against the grain of what's happening, and they're really fucking great at what they do. Again, the full length will undoubtedly be amazing, but in the meantime, get this EP to warm you up to them. [www.robbersonhighstreet.com]