ROBINSON, MILES BENJAMIN ANTHONY
miles benjamin anthony robinson

rough trade exclusive with a bonus cd featuring 4 track daytrotter session with all unreleased tracks. this record will be as important to rough trade shops as bon iver was in 2008 and alela diane in 2007. it's absolutely stunning and will appeal to fans of the afore mentioned artists, elliott smith and bright eyes. on his self-titled debut, brooklyn-based singer-songwriter miles benjamin anthony robinson enlists all-star help in friends chris taylor and chris bear of grizzly bear and kyp malone of tv on the radio. but he isn't overshadowed by these more accomplished musicians; instead, robinson has a style and flair all his own. the record opens with 'buriedfed,' in which robinson takes a surreal look at his own funeral. the song begins with a sparse, bare-bones arrangement of mumbled vocals and a quiet guitar, then builds to anthemic proportions as robinson cries out, "believe me, i wish that i were dead." the clanging guitars and drums of 'woodfriend' give the track a caustic sound, making robinson's vocals seem all the more tortured. robinson's heavy lyrics and anguished blues vocals give the record immediacy and honesty. on transgressive.