Robbers On High Street - The Fatalist and Friends

Genre rock Publisher New Line Records External Links Official Robbers On High Street Website Official New Line Records Website

In 2005, a band of New York hipsters calling themselves Robbers On High Street released their first full-length LP titled Tree City to little notoriety. The album's mixed reviews where mostly attributed to the fact that the sound was catchy, but too closely resembled the sound that so many other NYC bands before them had attempted. ROHS's sophomore effort, Grand Animals, is due out in early '07 but to hold us over until then the band has a digitally released EP (The Fatalist and Friends) and surprise, surprise, it has created quite a buzz in internetland, managing to get folks excited about the upcoming album.

The EP's first two tracks, "The Fatalist" and "Married Young", are scheduled to appear on Grand Animals and, unlike even the best songs on Tree City, they don't sound like a band trying to mimic a scene. Rather, they sound like a band that's learning the ropes of original and creative songwriting. Although their post-punk, later period Clash-style guitar riffs still dominate, it is Ben Trokan's cool, laidback singing that gives this EP lift. The icing on the cake is not an original tune, but instead a stellar cover of Paul McCartney's "Monkberry Moon Delight" off of Ram. ROHS hits a home run with this one, capturing the obscure song's original essence while putting their own art school spin on it.

The Fatalist and Friends EP is a short, four song morsel of a new and improved Robbers On High Street. Releasing the EP exclusively on the internet may solidify their fan base; however, the fact that these songs are really good has set the stage for their future.