Bank Robbers Tomorrow Belongs To Me CD

Levittown, NJ, emo kids the Bank Robbers return with their third album, bearing a slightly more melodic and pop-friendly sound than their screamier, hardcore-oriented earlier releases. Tomorrow Belongs to Me is a notable improvement, with a more varied sound incorporating both greater musical dynamics and new instruments such as the piano and synthesizer that color most of the record. Unfortunately, even with all of these changes for the better, the Bank Robbers remain merely a competent but undistinguished second-string emo band. The main thing the Bank Robbers have going for them is singer Rob Nardone, whose vocals are as much within the emo tradition as the rest of the band's sound, except that he's a better than average singer who lacks the whiny falsetto edge that makes so many emo singers so irritating; even at his shoutiest, Nardone has a sense of restraint, and on tracks like "Here's Your Song You've Always Wanted" he manages more of a sense of emotional shading than is usual for the style. The problem is that the songs themselves are formulaic indie rock following the lead of better-known (and just plain better) acts like Taking Back Sunday; even the most dedicated fan of the style will likely find songs like "I'll See You in Another Life" and "Facing Our Nightmare" pleasant but forgettable. ~ Stewart Mason