Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
Spunk/ EMI



"This is my last song about myself, about my friends, find something else to sing." So goes the opening line of Buriedfed, the first song on 'Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson', but don't believe it for a second - Robinson's debut release comes straight from the album-as-confessional school. The lyrics, a litany of the problems with his and his friends' lives, are pretty morbid but the ramshackle backing that rises from gentle acoustic guitar to the crash of a raucous Brooklyn bar band gives them punch and Robinson's urgent delivery as he throws himself ever deeper into the song carries the listener along. It's undoubtedly the album's highlight, but there's plenty of other worthy material here to make 'Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson' worth seeking out.

A few high-profile guests certainly think so, with Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor, Daniel Rossen and Christopher Bear and TV On The Radio's Kyp Malone providing the instrumentation, which constantly gives the impression of slightly ragged edges but matches every mood on the album perfectly. Robinson invests himself wholeheartedly into each song in the manner of Conor Oberst a few years ago, but the lyrics are considerably darker, the vocals sometimes multi-tracked and the music takes more nods from post-rock than alt-country, with a little blues and folk thrown in there as well.

All of these tendencies are more pronounced towards the end of the album, typefied by the grand spaciousness of Mountaineerd as it rises (like most of the songs) from a mumble to a shout surrounded by crashing guitar discord. The Debtor, on the other hand, turns portentous piano chords into a strident, crescendo-laden creation that strives for cathartic, and just about reaches it. Woodfriend cribs a little of its hook from Harvey Danger's (remember them?) Paranoia, which is certainly unexpected and about as catchy as it gets, but if you're willing to invest a little time in 'Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson', it may be one of the more fulfilling discoveries of this year.

Alexis Buxton-Collins