Rolo Tomassi

Rolo Tomassi is a British mathcore band from Sheffield, formed in 2005. The group is named after a character from the film L.A. Confidential. It is known for a DIY approach, technically complex writing and chaotic live performances.

Style and sound

The band works across experimental rock, grindcore, mathcore, metal and noisecore, with music that is difficult to place in a single genre. Its sound features odd time signatures, polyrhythmic drumming and abrupt shifts between intense passages and more atmospheric sections. Earlier releases also draw on jazz breakdowns, acid jazz and 8-bit synthesizers, while later work incorporates pop, ambient, shoegaze and space rock elements.

Rolo Tomassi uses two vocalists, with Eva Korman and James Spence sharing vocal duties. The group’s contrasting vocal approach is a defining part of its sound, moving between fragile melodic singing and harsher delivery.

Releases and label history

The band releases music on Destination Moon. It previously issues two albums through Hassle Records: Hysterics and Cosmology, the latter produced by Diplo. In 2011 it sets up its own label, Destination Moon, and releases Eternal Youth, a compilation of B-sides, remixes and rarities, as well as Astraea, its third album and the first to feature a line-up change.

Its next albums are Grievances and Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It, both released on Holy Roar. Grievances has a darker, more frenetic character and includes pianos and violins. Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It continues in that darker vein while also indicating that it does not define the band’s full direction. The sixth album, Where Myth Becomes Memory, appears in 2022 and explores time, touring, nostalgia and the unreliability of memory.

Development

Eternal Youth documents the band’s development from its 2005 demos to later B-sides. Astraea expands the band’s palette further, and includes tracks such as “Mezmerizer”, described as a space rock ballad, while “Old Mystics” and “The Scales of Balance” reference the “Golden Age” associated with Astraea. The band also draws on Greek mythology in naming the album.

Line-up

Current members are Eva Korman, James Spence, Chris Cayford, Nathan Fairweather and Al Pott. Earlier members include Joe Nicholson, Joseph Thorpe, Edward Dutton and Tom Pitts.