Robber Robber – ‘Two Wheels Move the Soul’ album review: If itchiness was a sound
As the skin starts to prickle, a redness starts to engulf the pores, and a raging fire alights around the body, you might just hear Robber Robber blitzing through with their grunge sweet nothings.
The Skinny: That is, of course, an odd way to describe an album. But as unwelcome as the discomfort of an allergic reaction may be, it seems to be the only appropriate way to consider Two Wheels Move the Soul, the latest record from Vermont rock band Robber Robber. It’s visceral, inescapable, and just a little painful.
From the jarringly cold opening of ‘The Sound It Made’, you know in an instant that this is not an album of sweet sounds and soft intonations. The whole effect is startling, blaring, and blistering – like you’re in some sort of Hollywood police chase or being warned about the criminality of pirating films at the start of a 2000s DVD.
It’s clear that everything about the record from this point forward is designed with the sole intention of stirring the senses. There’s a pulse, a frenetic energy, an insatiable itch, if you will, that keeps buzzing through the 11 tracks until the very last riff of ‘Bullseye’, and it never gives you the chance to breathe.
Trouble is, you really need the ability to catch some air in order to survive. Much like when the whole body is covered with hives, there can only be so many blistering guitar effects and angsty drum beats before you truly explode. Naturally, there is always going to be a certain element of anger which fuels rock music, but it really shouldn’t be as frustrating to the audience to listen to.
While Robber Robber blaze through various sonic facets from grunge to garage rock to shoegaze, it becomes apparent that the unerring sense of unease is not so much a pitfall as it is the whole intention. They create a bodily muse of discomfort throughout the album that Nirvana would be proud of.
Whether that’s explicit in songs like ‘Watch For Infection’ or simply felt to the chilling bone on something like ‘Pieces’, the constant rising temperature makes for the stuff of nightmares, breaking out in rashes, and possible sleep paralysis demons. If you’re squeamish or easily spooked, Two Wheels Move the Soul is probably not for you.
However, if you are able to hold your nerve throughout an album that thunders by while it creeps under the skin, you can just about learn to see the benefits towards the end. It is far from perfect, and the band need to heed the call of dialling things back when the edginess is permanently turned up to 11, but they leave every inch of the body fully alive afterwards.
Standout Track: ‘The Sound It Made’
The Verdict: With a cold flannel and a packet of antihistamines at the ready, Two Wheels Move the Soul is undoubtedly visceral, invigorating, and pulsing in a way that truly pierces through the heart. At the same time, there’s only so much pressure one can take until it reaches the boiling point. Warning: this may be a mild irritant.
Release Date: April 3rd, 2026 | Producer: Benny Yurco | Label: Fire Talk
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