Robber Robber – Talkback
Burlington, Vermont quartet Robber Robber sign to Fire Talk Records with “Talkback”, their first new music since 2024’s critically acclaimed debut “Wild Guess”. The signing comes with a January 30th physical and digital reissue of that self-released album, which landed the band on Stereogum’s Best New Artists list and earned year-end praise from Pitchfork, Paste, and Post-Trash.
“Talkback” is a propulsive two-minute track built on precise percussion from Zack James and a persistent bass line from Nina Cates. The song captures that spiral of replaying conversations in your head hours after they happened, running through what you should have said. Cates sings about the moment passing and then obsessively rewinding it, imagining the perfect comeback that would’ve landed flat, got the standing ovation, won the argument. Her delivery emphasizes each jagged syllable over scorching guitars and bass, moving from the initial fumble through the hours-later mental replay that keeps looping with no end. There’s something relatable about settling back down, thinking you’re cool again, then getting sucked right back into that mental rerun.
Produced by Cates and James, engineered by Benny Yurco, and mastered by Sam Snyder, the track maintains the rhythmic essence that defines Robber Robber’s sound while pushing their post-punk foundations with krautrock-inspired structures. It’s a zippy tune that ends before you’re tired of it, making you hit repeat.
The band directed and edited the video themselves, with James and Cates co-directing and Will Krulak assisting on editing. They collaged infrared nightcam footage of the band performing in their Vermont rehearsal space with hand-drawn animations, reinforcing the surveillance atmosphere the song addresses.
After the “Wild Guess” release, Robber Robber toured with noise giants Julie across Europe and released “Wild Guest”, an EP featuring remixes from This is Lorelei, GIFT, and Club Casualties.
Fire Talk Records is home to Cola, Dehd, Mandy, Indiana, and Wild Pink.
