The Midweekly is our column from Mike Jeffers; lead singer of Chicago punk stalwarts SCRAM, music junkie and all around righteous dude.
There are two souls in one body here in the band Rolo Tomassi. Sometimes in harmony with each other, and sometimes in conflict. The metal group from Sheffield, England know how to use both dynamics to their advantage on their recent release, Where Myth Becomes Memory. The first soul comes in the form of a dream pop ballad, with a beautiful, angelic voice from singer, and founding member, Eva Korman. Right alongside those vocals are the keys, both piano and synth, from other founding member, backing vox, and brother, James Spence. The keys are at the forefront during these parts, and together Korman and Spence create some lovely melodies. Now for the other side of things. That voice has now become a blood curdling scream, and with it comes a barrage of heavy guitar riffs and drums, both produced and stylized with mechanical precision. Dizzying time signatures give way to epic half time breakdowns, and vice versa. Lyrics about existential dread, and the search for enlightenment. It’s a fine slice of emo metal that RoTo has been perfecting for a decade and a half with their own DIY approach, and this new record presents great results. Maybe these two musical souls inside this band are really just one, but sometimes on this album it sounds like a legion.