64 Big Cheese

ROLO TOMASSI

youngest band members into the venues where they perform, the groupstill emanates a youthful appearance—from their petite leading lady totheir gangly guitarists. Bass player Joseph shrugs, saying: “It’s one ofthose things where we have to turn negatives into positives, and whilesome people might pigeonhole us as a young band, when we’re theyoungest band on the bill, people are going to remember our band overanother generic band they saw whose members are all a similar age.”Joseph also points out that in the time Rolo Tomassi has been together,they have accomplished more than many older bands ever manageduring the life of their group. Not yet jaded and certainly not lackingenthusiasm for their work, Rolo Tomassi may have turned a potentialhandicap into an advantage.

With the heavy touring schedule that the band has been churning throughthis spring and more dates planned for the summer, excitement and energyare the legs that will carry Rolo Tomassi through the season. In the past, theyhave taken on audiences at Download Festival, SXSW, and the UnderageFestival, and this past February, they warmed up with the Soundwave Festivalin Australia. Similar to their recording session in LA, James called theexperience “this amazing holiday where we played gigs every now andagain.”

The group appreciates that the festival scene offers a unique on-stage

challenge for the band to hold an audience while two or three other actscompete for people’s attention in neighbouring fields. It also that it givesbands a rare chance to socialize with each other. Joe explains avidly, “Musicfestivals are kind of like summer camp for bands. You catch up with all yourfriends and hang out and drink.”

In ‘Cosmology’, fans can expect to hear about the self-assessments andreflective questions that rose out of Rolo Tomassi’s time on the road sincereleasing their debut album two years ago. Eva concurs, “With our firstalbum, we were writing about everything that had affected us to that point,and then we had another eighteen months for the lyrics for the new album totake place. A lot of that was spent on tour and a lot of it was to do with theband.” As the band’s sound continues to mature and their notoriety spreads, theband hopes that the focus will continue to sharpen on the band’s talent, andnot their age, appearance, or, in Eva’s case, size. “I don’t think it hasanything to do with the music that we’re making and I certainly don’t think itwas something we planned to happen with the band. I’d rather have theresponse be about something else than just me being a small girl whoscreams.”

‘Cosmology’ is out now on Hassle Words/Photo: Jen Gallagher/Hannah Thomas

WHEN DESCRIBING Rolo Tomassi’s latest recording endeavour, it soundsmore like a lopsided riddle than just another standard itinerary of gruellingstudio sessions. What happens when you transpose four fair-haired boys andone petite pixie blonde from their native Sheffield environment to the warmand sunny, flowers-on-the-freeway shores of Southern California? Obviously,they produce a raging album of scream music that has been described alonga sliding scale as anything from experimental rock to mathcore.Five years older and five years wiser than when they first formed, RoloTomassi have released their sophomore album, ‘Cosmology’, proving thatthey are more than just another match-strike band—their flame onlyintensifies in their new work. Not to mention, this time around on tour, they’refinally all of legal age. “We’re better at writing songs together,” says guitaristJoe, not to be confused with bass guitarist Joseph: “We’ve been in this bandfor five years now, and we did the first album in 2008, and we still weren’treally sure how to put together an album properly.” ‘Cosmology’ has takenthe band’s sound to the next rung of progressive hardcore music. “It soundsa lot bigger, a lot more structured, more interesting without confusing orlosing the listener’s attention,” Joe explains, gesturing as though he’smoulding the album out of the thin air over his lap. The recent breezyrecording sessions were partly due to the maintenance of a newfoundconfidence that everyone will deliver on his or her own parts if only allowedto work freely. “I think we were just really, really prepared for it in the end,”says vocalist and synth player James: “Every one of us did our bit.”

Piled onto a small couch and a couple wiry chairs in a hiccup-sized studiochanging room, the band members are as at ease with each other as a nestof Spaniel puppies. They agree unanimously that putting ‘Cosmology’together was notably easier than recording ‘Hysterics’ had been. For a groupthat has spent most of their lives in the soggy heartlands of the UK, RoloTomassi thrived in bright and smiley Los Angeles. “We were talking to peoplefrom home, telling them ‘Oh, we’ve done this and done this and done this’and they’d be like, ‘Have you recorded the record yet?’” James laughs: “Ourmanager was getting really worried.”

With Diplo on board to produce the new album and prior experienceinforming their efforts, the recording sessions for ‘Cosmology’ progressedsmoother and more naturally this time around. “We all said that we felt likewe just had a holiday and that at the end of it this album kind of justappeared,” says Joe. James is quick to add that the band worked incrediblyhard on the new album, as evidenced by the glossy final product. Eva, stillfaintly glowing with perspiration from the high wattage photo shootcompleted moments before the interview, chimes in heavily, “The days werereally, really long.”

As most young bands do, Rolo Tomassi faced extra hurdles due to thefact that they were so young when their band began touring. Thoughthey no longer have to worry about facing difficulty getting their

Big Cheese 65

Preparing to release theirsophomore album,Sheffield’s ROLO TOMASSItalk ‘Cosmology’...