Robat – tiny (2017)

tiny is the debut album from Minnesota’s Robat, a 10-track feast rich in lush guitar sections from a band wandering in and out of reality. Reminiscent of early Wilco in parts, the band tends to drab drift in a folk induced wave. Soaring vocals and locked drum riffs make the band particularly tasteful. Not too much, or too little, Robat continually defies genres. In the song ‘get better’ singer Alex’s beautiful feminine touch creates an bittersweet melancholy?, “I’m sorry, my baby, I’ll do my best to get better, I know you must hate me, but I’m all you’ve got, and we have to stick together” brings the song to a close and climax (the beginning of the latter half of the album.)

The five piece moves into a lounge/jazz section in the later part of the album. The title track, tiny, recaptures the beginning elements of indie, emo, and math aspects. The band simultaneously channels heaviness, groove, taste, and beauty in a quintet for the ages. A must listen.