Hello My Old/New Friends!

Robbers on High Street was born in Poughkeepsie and has spent the last ten years (give or take) making awesome records and slowly trickling into national awareness. This six piece band is “confident and unabashed in their grasp of late-60s Anglophilia” according to their bio, and it is the truth.  Their newly released Anything Can Happen EP carries the same jolly sonic fun as the early Oasis records. Bonus points: these guys seem way nicer than Oasis.

Every song has a brush of upbeat Beatles, without the unfortunate weight that such a comparison usually carries. The closing track “Hello My Old Friends” is particularly fun  – bouncy blues piano, a horn section and a catchy melody make for a very danceable experience. The main vocal line throughout the EP still carries that Elvis Costello feel from previous ROHS records – well-mixed with marvelously Sergeant Pepper backgrounds and harmonies.

With the Fauxtown wave of the early new-millenium having come and gone, it is easy to be wary of a band that touts itself as retro or having a throwback sound. Just because something is old doesn’t make it good. But with ROHS, the vintage label is entirely unpretentious. Although the two groups are hardly comparable in a performance capacity, perhaps these talented gentlemen will be able to ride the same wave as Fitz & the Tantrums. What sets groups like ROHS, Fitz, or The Postelles (another New York gem) apart is their capacity to make something fantastically new and NOW out of this distinctively older influence.

In the Anything Can Happen EP, Robbers on High Street bring the vintage flavor with a fresh perspective. This EP is straight-up good pop music.