Bank Robber Music - Film, TV, & Commercial Music Licensing

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

"Dirty Shirt Rock 'n' Roll: The First Ten Years"

Over here at BRM, our inner indie rock nerd is kicking in and we're very excited to announce that we're working the new Jon Spencer Blues Explosion compilation, Dirty Shirt Rock 'N' Roll: The First Ten Years (Shout! Factory). Spencer was a dynamo, channeling Otis, Iggy, and James into a fuzzed out, distinctly 90's re-imagining of the early Motor City rock 'n' roll sound. Dirty Shirt Rock 'N' Roll is an ingeniously selected best of record. With jams like "Bellbottoms" and "She Said", you can't really miss.  If you haven't heard "Bellbottoms" in a while turn it up and be ready to yell "THE BLUES ARE NUMBER 1!".

The Tallest Man On Earth

"The Wild Hunt"

Kristian Matsson has released his second full length album, The Wild Hunt (Dead Oceans), as his namesake The Tallest Man On Earth. Hailing from Sweden (Swedophile alert!), it is obvious that Mr. Matsson has spent a lot of time devouring american folk music. I had iTunes on random and literally came running to the computer because I though I had discovered a long lost Bob Dylan b-side. I had not, but what I had discovered was a newly minted Tallest Man On Earth classic entitled “The Drying of the Lawns.” He definitely makes some Dylanesque melodic choices, going up when you expect him to go down. Throughout the album, he rolls frailly across the worn strings of his acoustic guitar, augmenting with a banjo here or a mandolin there, but his music is really about his voice and what he has to say. On “Burden Of Tomorrow” he sings “...rumor has it that I wasn’t born, I just walked in one frosty morn, into the vision of some vacant mind…” which is how his songs feel. It’s hard to imagine these songs ever being crafted by man, let alone recorded last year. Every song feels like it has existed forever.  Check out “King of Spain”.

Small Black

"Small Black EP"

Hailing from Billy Joel's home, Long Island, we give you Small Black. This enigmatic four-piece, which actually features one of the member’s old Uncles throughout, comes off like a super-catchy lo-fi extension of the chill wave template that hit critical mass appeal in the ‘09. Mixing live and sampled parts, fuzzy spacey atmospherics and hooks for days – the Small Black EP (Jagjaguwar) plays like a Panda Bear record on Ambien. “Despicable Dogs,” somehow is epic and mellow at the same time. Go figure. Pitchforkmedia called the EP "absurdly addicitive”. Consider us addicts.  Check out “Despicable Dogs”.

La Strada

"New Home"

Brooklyn’s La Strada has graced us with their first full length album, entitled New Home (Ernest Jenning Record Co.) Combining the collective exuberance of Arcade Fire, the pop sensibilities of Beirut, the instrumentation of Architecture In Helsinki and injecting it with a playfulness that is missing from most modern pop music, they have released a thoroughly satisfying album. For evidence of this, check out “The Traveler.” It starts as a quirky pop ditty, then quickly turns into a lush symphonic piece before a great distant distorted guitar leads us down an alley where we find ourselves feasting on wine and cheese at a french café. All of the songs takes us on a globetrotting journey, which can be explained by lead songwriter James Craft’s propensity for living everywhere you want to be. France, Romania, Indiana, Chicago, Northern California, and, since 2005, New York City. But don’t be jealous of all those frequent flier miles, because he shares his travels in spades across the 13 tracks on this killer album.  Check out “My New Home”.

Cuff The Duke

"Way Down Here"

The new Cuff The Duke LP, Way Down Here (EJRC), brings to mind a past life I may have had as a gunslinger.  Mixing CSNY (or Fleet Foxes, for that matter) style vocal harmonies with spacey, Ennio Morricone-esque guitar melodies, Way Down Here supplies both backseat makeout anthems ("You Were Right", "The Words You Ignore") as well as moody, trapped in a mineshaft dirges ("It's All A Blur".)  There's even full on rockers like the Wilco sounding "Another Day In Purgatory."  Check out "You Were Right."

Caribou

"Swim"

Talk about a return to form. Look, we at the Bank Robber absolutely loved Dan Snaith’s Caribou debut for Merge Records, Andorra, but his new one Swim has got us at hello. Somehow with Swim Snaith was able to channel all his wild ambitions – spacey Arthur Russell-esq vocals, psychedelic world-influenced polyrhythms, 80’s house music, disco – into one completely mellow-easy going deceptively catchy, deceptively dancey, deceptively infectious unassuming little record that will no doubt end up being one of my faves come year end. The record’s first single, “Odessa” is already a classic. Equal parts Morricone horror-movie score spookiness, roller-disco beats, dubby atmospheric percussion, chiming Bee-Gee’s funk guitars, and a killer chorus – in my most perfect world “Odessa” would be what number 1 hit song would sound like. Swim is filled with moments like this. It’s a great pop record. It’s a great electronic album. It never feels labored over. It will make you dance. It will make you wish you had some pot laying around. It will serve as perfect background music to your next dinner party. Don't believe me?  Check out “Odessa.”

Trans Am

"Thing"

When the robots finally come for us, I assure you it will sound like Thing (Thrill Jockey), the new one from Trans Am. Awash in layers of fuzz and Frampton Comes Alive vocoder trickery, all this record needs is a Thomas Dolby-esque outburst of "SCIENCE!" to make this gloomy rager a full on nerdy freakout. This one has a bit of everything. "Interstellar Drift" is a straight up space jam (thanks Radiohead), but not a Space Jam (sorry Mugsy Bogues.)  "Naked Singularity" is a mathy, dancy number that will have you oiling your gears and swiveling on your axis.  "Bad Vibes" sounds a bit like getting lost in the desert, and a lot like getting lost in the desert because your mobile meth lab broke down. Strap in, put on your Halo 3 helmet (nerd!), and check out "Interstellar Drift."

Tunng

"...And Then We Saw Land"

Tunng’s new one, …And then We Saw Land (Thrill Jockey) is an absolutely gorgeous record.  After hyperbolic snowstorms and a long grey winter, we’re ready for spring and Tunng helps deliver the warmth. With new lead singer Becky Jacobs taking the reigns, …And Then We Saw Land is like the sun filtering through the trees.  Shimmering electronic elements anchored by banjo and acoustic guitar combine for a dreamy pop record that is just a little bit off-kilter but absolutely comforting.  Check out “Hustle”.

New Young Pony Club

"The Optimist"

What's that you say? You need a record to soundtrack a night of alcohol and broken high heels? Well, look no further my friend! I've only to twirl my mustache and let you inside to feast your ears upon The Optimist (PIAS).  New Young Pony Club have outdone themselves with this one. Building upon the disco leanings of their debut, Fantastic Playroom, the band has turned the goth dial (as well as the bass) up all the way, leaving us with a record that's as menacing as it is sexy. Sitting sonically somewhere between !!!, Bloc Party, and m83, The Optimist is a bit of moody dance floor heaven. Tracks like "Chaos" and "We Want To" are aching to soundtrack a debutantes gone wild night on the town.  Check out “Chaos”.

Cate Le Bon

"Me Oh My"

Cate Le Bon's

Me Oh My (The Control Group) sounds a bit like America in the 1960's.  Despite her Welsh farmgirl upbringing, Cate channels the late great Nico into a sparsely produced dreamscape of hushed tones and vivid imagery.  Something about this record makes me think of great road movies - much the same way Silver Jews' American Water makes me anxious for gasoline and interstates. "Shoeing The Bones" is Le Bon at her best, with the guitar and drums laying back, letting her words slowly wrap around you like a creeping vine.  "Terror Of The Man" is a downright eerie, nightmarish, keyboard driven number that sounds a bit like Hunter S. Thompson waving his arms at a sky teeming with imaginary bats. Check out "Shoeing The Bones."