At the last count, Robbers on High Street had 1,303 “friends” on their Myspace page. One young fan even posted a message that he wanted to start a band that sounded just like his heroes. Wonder if these four average-looking Robbers dudes uttered same to Britt Daniel before launching their Spoon soundalike? But while this breezy band should probably cough up more than a few bucks to thank Daniel, their first full-length album and a host of prime support slots on pop tours hint that these protégés may have more commercial potential than their master. With slacker swagger, brash guitars and lots of piano balladry, Tree City is content in its ways, never straying far from askew indie rhythms and charming if not
memorable heart-on-sleeve tales. It sounds like guys who play it safe on stage and off — a couple of light beers, the ubiquitous condom and they’re out. They actually mean it when they say, “Let’s still be friends.” All 1,303 times.
Shannon McCarthy writes about music for Metro Times. Send comments to [email protected].
