Robber Robber – The Sound It Made
Burlington’s Robber Robber kick off their sophomore album Two Wheels Move the Soul with “The Sound It Made”, a track that doesn’t waste time on introductions. Vocalist and guitarist Nina Cates opens with “Wanna spend a while just me and you / Got sports on the radio, and away we go” before spiraling through disconnected thoughts about revolution, weather complaints, and sun allergies. Her delivery stays remarkably cool even as the instrumentation threatens to collapse under its weight.
The song captures a specific moment in the band’s story. After a fire swept through their flat, Cates and drummer Zack James found themselves bouncing between friends’ couches during a brutal Vermont winter. Their landlord had condemned the building, and the pair spent the winter of 2024-2025 writing and recording at Little Jamaica Studios with engineer Benny Yurco. The studio became their only consistent space, while everything else felt temporary.
That instability bleeds into the lyrics. Cates pieces together journal entries and memories from this period, creating what she calls a “collection collage.” She mentions hating the rain but loving the sound it made: finding something to appreciate in the middle of chaos. The band pulls from post-punk intensity, while Cates keeps her vocals detached even when everything around her gets louder.
Robber Robber recorded Two Wheels Move the Soul with the same approach that made their 2024 debut Wild Guess connect – trusting their instincts and going for something emotionally charged. Guitarist Will Krulak and bassist Carney Hemler round out the four-piece, all of them leaning into the disorder of the moment rather than fighting it. The result feels cooked and over the top, exactly as Cates intended.
Director Wes Sterrs shot the video in an abandoned office building floor in Portland, Maine – a space that had been gutted years ago and left in disarray. It mirrors the demolished building Cates and James lost, with one untouched boardroom standing among the ruins.
Two Wheels Move the Soul arrives April 3 via Fire Talk Records, following their recent singles “Talkback” and their cover of Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.”
The band heads out on a US tour in May with stops across North America.
Tracklist:
- The Sound It Made
- Avalanche Sound Effect
- New Year’s Eve
- Imprint
- Watch For Infection
- It’s Perfect Out Here in the Sun
- Pieces
- Talkback
- Enough
- Again
- Bullseye
Tour Dates North America:
- May 8 – L’Esco, Montreal, QC
- May 11 – Lager House, Detroit, MI
- May 12 – Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH
- May 13 – Schubas, Chicago, IL
- May 14 – X-Ray Arcade, Cudahy, WI
- May 15 – Zhora Darling, Minneapolis, MN
- May 18 – The Bishop, Bloomington, IN
- May 19 – Random Sample, Nashville, TN
- May 20 – World Famous, Athens, GA
- May 21 – The Pinhook, Durham, NC
- May 22 – Rhizome, Washington, DC
- May 23 – Deep Cuts, Boston, MA
- May 27 – Oxbow Blending & Bottling, Portland, ME
- May 28 – Tubby’s, Kingston, NY
- May 29 – TV Eye, Brooklyn, NY
- May 30 – Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA
