In the before times, when we existed in the actual physical space we lived in and not in the endless screaming void of misinformation and FOMO that we call the internet, we learned about upcoming shows from listings by local promoters in things like alt weekly newspapers or even posters on bulletin boards, light posts, or building hoardings. Imagine.
A consequence of this was sometimes, instead of discovering new acts from all over the world and hoping against hope that they might actually tour and find their way to your town, you would see who was coming to town and give them a listen (hello record store listening stations) to see if they might be interesting and if so, you would go see their show. It seems quite quaint and inefficient by today’s standards, but honestly it worked pretty well.
Point being, I’ve now found a few exciting new acts simply by keeping an eye on promoter listings – as I do – and what do you know, they’re coming to town and I’ve got some stuff in the calendar that’s not too expensive and that I’m genuinely keen to see. I mentioned South Korea’s Dabda a few weeks ago and now I’m trumpeting Burlington, Vermont’s Robber Robber who are coming to town in early December.
The tour announcement came with the release of a deluxe edition of their second album Two Wheels Move The Soul, which originally came out back in April, so yeah – clearly they’re more in the “new to me” column than “new new new!” but that’s fine. I’m not chasing that ambulance anymore. My elevator pitch is that they’re one of those nearly-unclassifiable bands who come from the meaningless yet descriptive “post-punk” category in being noisy, pop, weird, and accessible all at once. My best comparison is London’s Sorry, who are similarly weird and pop but possibly more weird and more pop at the same time. If that means anything to you and it sounds appealing, check out Robber Robber. If it doesn’t and still sounds appealing, check out them both. And if sounds gross, just move on.
“The Sound It Made” is the album opener and a very effective introduction to the band, being under three minutes of stop-start rhythms, fuzz bass, and sweet vocals. I dig it a lot. Check out the official video, a couple live performances, and maybe dig through some press clippings. See you at The Baby G in December.
Robber Robber | Feature Interview @ Post-Trash
Interview: Nina Cates & Zack James (Robber Robber) @ The Big Takeover
Robber Robber are on the rise @ The Line Of Best Fit
Robber Robber Reflect on Uncertainty, and the Album that Grounded Them | Interview @ The Ugly Hug
Interview: Robber Robber Let the Music Speak on Two Wheels Move the Soul @ The Daily Music Report
