CD Review

Coming off the highly acclaimed, yet stealthy debut EP Fine Lines, the “lead you to believe they are Brits, but really hail from Brooklyn" quartet, Robbers On High Street now present their craft in full form. If the previous effort sounded like an estranged brother of the Strokes, thankfully this time around they moved out of the house and are spreading their roots. Maybe a bit too much even, as they fall into that new band trap of trying to cover every base early on. But the dynamic range shows a cauldron of potential once they find their singular voice.

The catchy, pop-punk that all the kids are wearing these days shows up in “Love Underground,” the sarcastic jaunt through “Japanese Girls,” and even finds itself in the Bowie-rich “Bring On The Terror.” If they stopped there, then this is just an extension of the EP, with polished, new, bound-to-be college radio staples “Amanda Green” and “Spanish Teeth.” But the more exploratory side, which solidifies the band as distinguished art-rock contemporaries was the apparent growth spurt destined to happen.

Shaded and expansive, the natural rockers with piano highlights, deeply wade through “Descender” and the melodic “The Price &Style,” only strengthened by the album’s unsung centerpiece, “Dig The Lightning.” If singer/guitarist/keyboardist Ben Trokan leans closer to the dramatic irony in his more loosely written mood pieces, leaving the bouncy pop for those other guys, Robbers On High Street will surely rise to be more than another NYC band in thrift store style. It may be January, but this is one you’ll hear about long after the snow melts in Central Park.