Robber Robber – Two Wheels Move My Soul
Robber Robber — the undefinable Burlington quartet of Nina Cates (vocals/guitar), Zack James (percussion), Will Krulak (guitar), and Carney Hemler (bass) — release their new album, Two Wheels Move the Soul, via Fire Talk Records.
Two Wheels Move the Soul includes the singles “The Sound It Made”, “Watch For Infection”, “Pieces”, and “New Year’s Eve.”
Pinpointing the specific catalyst for an avalanche can be slippery — any combination of classic elements, human interference, or freak accident can trigger disaster — and documenting these precise moments rests on serendipitous impulses. On Two Wheels Move the Soul, Robber Robber offer themselves as ignition and capture every sound in the wake. Two Wheels Move the Soul was written and recorded throughout the winter of 2024 and 2025, a season of Cates’ life characterized by near-constant upheaval following the demolition of her and James’ longtime home. In a moment’s notice — and amidst a particularly brutal Vermont winter — Cates and James were left to fend for themselves. Luckily, the two were able to tap a deep well of support within their community, finding respite on the couches of Lily Seabird, Greg Freeman, and Thus Love’s Echo Mars. An unused attic provided their longest arrangement.
Robber Robber’s personal and economic chaos redirected into a hyperfocused attention on Two Wheels Move the Soul. Returning to Little Jamaica Studios — one of the sites for their acclaimed debut Wild Guess — Cates, James, Krulak, and Hemler hunkered down with their trusted engineer Benny Yurco. The familiarity between the cast of characters allowed the studio to become a sanctuary, and foregrounded Two Wheels Move the Soul’s constant foray into sonically adventurous terrain. “Everywhere else that we had to be, we were very much visitors,” James recalls. “When we were working on the record, it was nice because it felt like this is our space.” Still, an overwhelming sense of imminent disaster hangs over Two Wheels Move the Soul. Every scribble on the guitar thins the air, each stab of percussion and wave of distortion makes it that much harder to breathe.
On Two Wheels Move the Soul, landslides come early and the news of their arrival is just as chilly. Propelled by Cates’ nonchalant bars — inspired by the effortlessly-cool cadence of Gucci Mane and Lou Reed — Two Wheels Move the Soul saunters in and out of frame with the implicit assurance that any gaze will follow. “You can leave it, but it follows you home,” Cates buries beneath incendiary bursts on “It’s Perfect Out Here in the Sun.” Easy to miss, it is a possible catalyst nonetheless. In the midst of the avalanche itself, the sparks ignited throughout Two Wheels Move the Soul fall by the wayside, and all that’s left is the wreck. “Upend, upend,” Cates intones atop kinetic and relentless instrumentation. Then the pressure cracks again. “So we dance.”
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