Robbers on High Street are yet another New York City band delivering a slickly produced retro rock sound on a major label. Type "Robbers on High Street" into Yahoo, and the description under their website says "infectious, danceable indie pop." That description is exactly what the Robbers on High Street deliver on their debut full-length for New Line Records, Tree City. Jumpy guitar lines, harmonizing vocals, rolling pianos, and a tight rhythm section earn Robbers on High Street comparisons to bands like Spoon, or even a less mainstream Ben Folds Five. A lot of these slickly produced pop songs really are quite infectious, as the melody from songs like "Japanese Girls" have huge stick-in-your-head potential. However, Tree City simply does not seem to have the staying power to knock fellow NYC rockers like Interpol out of anyone's rotation. The middle of the album tends to suffer a bit in terms of memorable choruses and instrumentation, and the vocals are pleasant, but nondescript.
Tree City is certainly an album that is enormously listenable, even quite enjoyable in a few places. Unfortunately, it seems to lack the truly memorable songs and album cohesiveness that will earn Robbers on High Street hipster appeal and a strong indie rock following. The potential for Robbers on High Street to release a truly classic release is obvious. Once this band finds their own voice and carves out for itself a unique niche in a crowded genre, Robbers on High Street could force people to stop and pay attention. Until then, Tree City is an album that will most likely get lost in the shuffle.
2.5/4
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