Music Reviews

Album Review: Robbers on High Street – ‘Grand Animals’

By Jeff Swindoll Jul 25, 2007, 23:20 GMT

Strings. French horn. Tuba. The second album by New York-based indie rockers Robbers on High Street features all the classic elements that are supposed to make second albums so terrible. All that\'s missing, really, is a children\'s choir. In this case, however, the group has balanced its studio ambition with just the right amount of real world restraint, coming up with a disc that actually improves on the first while ...more

Robbers on High Street consist of Ben Trokan, Steven Mercado, and Morgan King.  Ben and Steve are old friends and the band has been playing since 2002 with the founding members. 

In 2005, Morgan King was added to the mix when two other members left and that leaves us with the band’s current configuration.  ‘Grand Animals’ is the group’s follow-up to 2005’s ‘Tree City.’  The band's sound is an interesting combination of rock, brass, and strings that to my untrained ear has a certain Beatles flavor to it.  I guess that’s why I was surprised to learn that they group comes from New York instead of the UK. 

“The Ramp” has a nice slow piano underneath, but is about a kid being dared to jump a ramp and ending up in the hospital.  Not to mention that his folks write letters to Leonardo De Caprio to perform a visit before the poor dude shuffles off the mortal coil from his ramp jumping injuries. 

It’s really a funny little song if you listen closely to the lyrics.  “You Don’t Stand a Chance” almost has a Motown feel to it that was quite interesting.

I thought that the Robbers had an interesting style and that ‘Grand Animals’ was a grand musical excursion.