Since breaking onto the scene in 2002, New York-based indie rock quartet Robbers on High Street has been enduring constant criticism for its similarity to bands like Blur, Spoon and the Strokes. You can see the pattern in most reviews of the band’s first full-length LP, Tree City, which debuted in February.

But, as metacritic.com user Davis W says, “Robbers sound like Spoon? Yes. Spoon a good band? Yes.”

And that’s just how Robbers singer Ben Trokan sees it.

“Maybe at first I was sort of like, ‘All right, already,’ but it doesn’t bother me anymore,” Trokan says. “I definitely don’t mind being compared with great bands like Spoon. I guess I can see how some people might get angry, but I’m just hoping it will go away eventually.”

The oft-compared band will perform Friday to a sold-out, 21-and-up crowd at Schubas Tavern, 3159 N. Southport Ave. Besides opening for indie-rock darlings Wolf Parade in Chicago, Robbers are headlining its current tour.

“This tour we’re doing is the first one where we haven’t been supporting other bands,” Trokan says. “It’s a little bit scary and exciting. We’re touring with the King of France, so we’re sort of ahead of the class.”

Though this is the first time the band has toured to promote an LP, the group has played in Chicago before – they performed at Schubas and played at Loyola University in April for the Virgin College Mega Tour. And even though Robbers is part of a recent deluge of New York bands, geography isn’t a concern for the musicians.

“I think we just all live in New York, and you’re very heavily influenced by your surroundings,” he says. “I think we just try to please without worrying about where we’re from or where the audience is from.”

Trokan says he writes most of the music, though the other band members – drummer Tomer Danan, guitarist Steve Mercad and bassist Morgan King – bring their own interpretation and personal style to each song. According to Trokan, he looks to bands like the Kinks, the Beatles, and the Pixies to draw from their “writing structures and economical arrangements.”

“I also write songs with both piano and guitar,” Trokan says. “(Using piano to write songs) changes your approach and perspective of writing. When you’re using a guitar, to change a sound, you pretty much have to play a different chord, but with piano, you can just change the position of one finger and it will create something different. It’s a less drastic way of experimenting.”

Though Trokan spends a lot of time composing, he isn’t one to make a big deal of the final product.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” Trokan says. “I just play it.”

Robbers recently appeared as the house band on Last Call With Carson Daly, and the group has a song, “Love Underground,” on the soundtrack for this summer’s popular movie Wedding Crashers.

“Our label is part of New Line Cinema, which put out (Wedding Crashers). It turned out to be really funny. I didn’t see the movie, but my sister saw it, and she says they played us during the credits, so it wasn’t even a big deal,” Trokan says.

According to Trokan, the group will go back to creating new music after this tour ends.

“I think we’re going to take a serious several months off and start recording,” he says.

And whether the new music gets criticized for its similarities, Robbers won’t be too concerned.

“You’re influenced by everything surrounding you, every note of music you’ve ever heard,” Trokan says. “It’s just sort of become this thing we have to deal with.”4

Medill sophomore Anna Maltby is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at [email protected].

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