rolo tomassi hysteria
rolo tomassi hysteria

Rolo TomassiWhere Myth Becomes Memory

MNRK
4th February, 2022
8
Brilliant!

Rolo Tomassi have never necessarily settled for one sound.

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When they first popped up over a decade ago with I Love Turbulence, the Sheffield based group leaned closer to the chaotic and oddball stylings of Operator Please or The Grates, but slightly more of a Pagan quality to Eva Korman’s vocals.



By the time 2018’s Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It came around, the quintet had almost abandoned their old sound completely for something much more ambient and dreamy. Now on album number six Where Myth Becomes Memory, it seems they are at a point in their career that they can do whatever they want. And it works. As if a culmination of all of the group’s previous music ventures, Where Myth Becomes Memory merges ethereal synths; heavily distorted guitar harmonics and a juxtaposition between dream-pop and death metal vocals together in a fashion that only Rolo Tomassi could execute. Even from the opening seconds of Almost Always, you know you’re in for a new era for the band. Kicking off with slow building Jon Hopkins’ styled key sequences and Imogen Heap inspired vocal harmonisations, the mesmerising shoegaze opener works to build seamlessly into Cloaked, a chaotic wall of sound which adds elements of djent and black metal into the mix. 

Where Myth Becomes Memory highlights a band that is not only experimenting, but one that is actually having fun toying with the freedoms of their sound.

Mutual Ruin use of linear keys and percussion in its introduction stands out by adding an intricate element to the songs overall sound as speed-metal riffs and soaring vocals are slowly added. Whilst Labyrinthine leaves an impression due to Korman’s vocal delivery, which provides such a sinister snarling tone. The greatest part of Where Myth Becomes Memory is the creative liberties that the band has given themselves. By gravitating towards more of a shoegaze sound, the group can ultimately experiment however they want, leading to some really unique and creative moments. From the slapped reverb of the drums in Drip; to the creepy and meandering nature of Stumbling or the angular riffs of To Resist. Where Myth Becomes Memory highlights a band that is not only experimenting, but one that is actually having fun toying with the freedoms of their sound.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Mutual Ruin, Labyrinthine, Drip 
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Mogwai, High Tension, Fourteen Nights At Sea, 




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