Customer Reviews

Tree City (140 gram gatefold 12" vinyl)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am honestly astounded by all the harsh criticism I find here for a band that is now in my top 5, all time. Though I started with (and raved over) Grand Animals, Tree City contains some of my very favorite Robbers On High Street tunes. This band (and this album) for me was love at first listen, and a lasting love. A month later I'm still listening to little else. Spanish Teeth, Beneath the Trees, and Dig the Lightning are probably my favorite 3 of their songs, on any album. Naysayers who call this music less than earth shattering or imitation music are straight up crazy, if you ask me. The soaring melodies, intriguing lyrics, and unique sound of these songs are drop dead fabulous. I can't stop listening. If I were to compare them to another band, I'd call the Robbers a cross between The Strokes and The Natural History. I get the Spoon references made, but they're way better than Spoon. A must own.

I'm already addicted to this CD and listen to it constantly in the car. The songs are bouncy, each one is great, not a single clunker on the whole CD (which is more than I can say about many other indie groups ROHS have been compared to!)

Favorites: Amanda Green, Big Winter, Spanish Teeth, but they're all great! Sometimes they remind me of Elvis Costello, Maroon 5, even John Lennon! Whatever they remind me of, they sound fresh and I could listen to them all day!

i have a feeling that "Tree City" is going to be one of the most underrated albums of 2005, but i do hope i'm wrong, because Robbers on High Street deserves as much success as other "indie rock" bands of late have received for their debut albums. this album just SOUNDS SO GOOD TO ME and quite a few of the songs have a certain sexiness to them. for someone who focuses on lyrics often, it took me at least 10 listens to "tree city" before i even thought about them - the melodies and piano lines are that intoxicating. my favorite song on the album is the oh so delicious "dig the lightning" but other standouts are "spanish teeth," "amanda green," and "the price and style." if you've ever enjoyed catchy/moody rock music that features pianos, buy this CD!

...gimme a break, just don't Gimme Fiction when ROHS' debut record is a lot more exciting that Spoon's latest. I'm sick of hearing about Robbers on high street ripping off Spoon (apparently the indie rock equivalent of blowing up a school bus).

This is such a good debut album, that if this band only gets better with future releases, they will not be a best kept secret in indie rock for very long. The singer's voice is pretty much perfect: he hits the low notes & the high notes, sings soulfully & at times, seductively. The drums, piano, bass & guitars sound like they were never without each other: sounds like music made by good friends who are having a lot of fun. The words sound vague, but purposely vague. The enigmatic lyrics keep you listening after the melody hooks you in. In the future however, I would love to hear more open lyrics from them because the singer's voice could really do wonders with painfully honest words. In that respect, I would say they COULD be like Spoon, who started out making cool, short, addictive, but obscurely-worded songs, and later went on to open themselves up to different musical styles & more open lyrics, always re-inventing their sound. That is what I hope for, for this immensely talented band. As for THIS release, the seductive voice of Ben Trokan over the tight (sometimes dreamy, see Descender or Price & Style), catchy melodies makes for a fantastic 5 star debut.

I heard about this album on NPR, and from the blurbs they played on air, it seemed like something I might like. But when I played the album, all the songs sounded pretty much the same, and nothing cought my ear as I had hoped it would. I may give it a few more listens, and who knows, maybe it will grow on me.

This is a truly great record, end of story. Spoon wishes they were this good when they were 23. Heard them on NPR and was immediately sold.

Tree City is an album that although good, there is nothing that will keep it in your mind day after day. When you are listening to it it is enjoyable, and although nothing earth-shattering it is good, very good.

The piano and singing is superb, the songs short and transitioning quickly from track to track, you will finish the album before you know it. With great tracks like "Spanish Teeth", the more upbeat "Japanese Girls" to the deeper accounts "Big Winter" it is very peaceful, the kind of music many enjoy on a car ride home or before going to sleep.

The songs are all nice, but that is just it nothing stirring or new. When asked "Where's the rock." the guys simply replied, "What are you talking about where's the rock? It's just different." And thats what this record is different, its not a bad thing, but it's not a good thing. Thats my feeling about Tree City, I liked it, just not more than other albums out there, but when the time is right and the wind is blowing I pull out my copy of Tree City and let the relaxation begin.

A Bliss of 7

Maybe The Robbers will keep Spoon from getting lazy. Being derivative can be a cop-out, but no harm is done. And there is, as Sonic Youth teaches us, no wrong way to make music. This is a great record. These songs stand alone.

I genuinely enjoyed this album. FANTASTICO! check out their new stuff and their first ep is fantastic as well.