Robbers step out from a shadow

Ever since the release of its suspiciously Spoon-esque debut album, “Tree City,” in 2005, Brooklyn band Robbers on High Street has had a rough time with critics.

“Most of ‘Tree City’ sounds lifted from [Spoon front man] Britt Daniel’s songbook,” wrote Peter Macia in a particularly pointed Pitchfork review. “I mean, it sounds like they stole the tapes from Britt’s house and scribbled their name over his.”

Ouch.

With such barbs still caught in the Internet, one might suspect the young New Yorkers would keep their distance from the tall Texan and his bandmates. Instead, Robbers on High Street ended up releasing its sophomore effort, “Grand Animals,” on July 24, just two weeks after Spoon’s much-ballyhooed “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga” hit shelves.

“We’ve had a terrible time living in their shadow,” acknowledges Robbers singer and chief songwriter Ben Trokan about the release dates. Still, he maintains the bands are distinct: “I just feel like they’re in a whole ‘nother world from us.”

Thanks to the songs on “Grand Animals,” those worlds appear to be moving apart. Though the record still features plenty of the minimalist guitar riffs, syncopated piano lines, throbbing bass and throaty vocals that earned comparisons to Spoon the first time around, “Grand Animals” has some uniquely large arrangements. And the newly thematic songwriting is altogether startling, with tracks like “The Ramp” -- a story about a dying kid who gets a hospital visit from Leonardo DiCaprio -- heralding a major change for the band. “I wanted to try something more like Harry Nilsson or ELO or David Bowie, with more arrangements and stuff going on, just to see if it would work,” Trokan says, adding with a laugh: “Honestly, about half of it didn’t work. We just didn’t put that half on the record.”

-- Liam Gowing

Robbers on High Street, the Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. 8 p.m. Tuesday. $10 in advance; $12 day of performance. www.troubadour.com.