The style is there, but the substance is not. For a band that apes influences as disparate as the Arcade Fire and Johnny Cash – not to mention the blatant borrowing from Oakland’s WHY? in “Dinner Pill” – any attempt at cohesion within a four-song EP may well be futile. But in the absence of a broader rubric, Raised by Robots’ admittedly sharp indie rock fails to draw blood.
At the Red Devil Lounge (1695 Polk St., San Francisco) on June 23. 9 p.m., $8
