Dismiss The Bank Robbers off as a band with a bad name at your peril. Sure, it’s not the best I’ve ever come across, but boy are this band good. I only caught them by chance after a random downloading spree on Pure Volume, but I’m glad I did. Hailing from New Jersey this quintet play a passionate form of technical punk rock that borders on the melodic side, whilst maintaining an aggressive edge. There are Thrice-esque lead guitar parts, thudding drum patterns and harsh screams, but all are played alongside a style that is melodic pop-punk at heart. And while at times this concoction could come across as clumsy and messy, it works very, very effectively.
So compelled was I by the one track I heard, I bought this album from Interpunk and with the current exchange rate in our favour, managed to scrape some change out of a tenner. At that price this is an excellent addition to your collection. Upon further inspection to the band’s history you will see the fivesome are straight-edge. Not that you would know it from their lyrics mind, although there are passing glances towards their edge, it’s refreshing to hear a band that don’t go on to ram it down your throats. Anyway, ‘The Pattern Reversed’ kicks off with the title-track, a song with a lead guitar riff twirling and splattering out alongside a heavily distorted and aggressive guitar line, which then compliments the screamed backing vocals very well. There’s a large dollop of passion and emotion which works well, but it never sounds contrived or even vaguely emo, which is also nice to hear during a time when the ‘e’ word seems to rule the musical roost.
‘A Chance Worth Taking’ and ‘Losing More Than Just An Hour’ are little pearlers, but ‘The Rest Of Your Life Starts Here’, which sounds like My Favourite Co-Pilot in a car crash with The Early November, is a brilliant track; an aggressive brute that maintains a massive melodic feel throughout. ‘Your Best Kept Secret’ is an acoustic track which also works so well because it sounds as though vocalist Rob is about to break down at any moment. The line “I’ll confess my love when the time is right, but not before you burn your ways,” comes across perfectly – and in the outro you just expect the whole song to cave in on itself. Glorious stuff. ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’ and ‘Bethany Beach’ are strong efforts too, but then each of the 10 tracks is good in its own right.
The added bonus was that I discovered No Milk Records too and bands like Halifax and TBR are sure to give this label a boost this year. All in all, this is an unexpectedly great album and proves the value of the MP3. There’s no way I’d have heard of them otherwise but now I’ll be keeping one eye on their progress. With smart production, plenty of melody and an aggressive filling, The Bank Robbers will be ones to watch out for this year.
www.thebankrobbers.com
No Milk Records
Paul