Much like the character to whom their name refers, Rolo Tomassi have cultivated a reputation on being dangerously elusive. Revolving around a mathcore-orientated nucleus, the band have made no attempt to keep things strictly formal. The ‘Nintendocore’ of 2008’s debut record Hysterics and 2006’s self-titled EP, most notably the track “Film Noir”, were succeeded by the more direct Cosmology, though the likes of ‘”Kasia’” ensured such varying categorisations remained constant. Then came the ‘space rock’ of tracks such as “Mezmerizer” to third album Astraea, a record which saw the Yorkshire five-piece at their most coherent. On Grievances, some of the space sticks around, the Nintendo less-so, and it is the former which the catalyst of mathcore is married to most extensively, a concoction which, although previously acknowledged, has never yet been explored fully.
It is quite fitting indeed that, several months after the band celebrated the benchmark of a decade together, they release what is undoubtedly a record which reflects their most profound sense of scope. It’s not that they haven’t indulged in such an aesthetic previously; Astraea’s closer “Illuminare” not only ticks the box by clocking in at over seven minutes, but also feels huge in both ambition and composition. It’s just the band haven’t yet engaged with this dynamic on an album-length scale thus far. Indeed, when one begins with the frenetic, biting approach which lay at the heart of their debut, such a foray is not necessarily a foreseeable future step. The seeds can perhaps be seen as cast on the group’s second full-length, Cosmology, which welcomed esteemed electronic producer Diplo in on recording duties. Acknowledged by the band members as opening their eyes to other areas of their sound, it was most notable for pursuing the vocal potential of Eva Spence, further developing a frontwoman who, by her own admission, spent early live shows ‘’hunched over with my back to the crowd, screaming towards our drummer’’.
Such a dynamic is certainly central to Grievances and, at times, executed with great success, with “Raumdeuter” arguably the strongest and most encompassing song the band have written to date. A track of two halves, it combines the typically shrill screams of both Eva and James Spence amid a sea of tremolo guitars and drums with a vocal performance by Eva which finds strength both in its serenity and its space. Elsewhere, there are more traditional nods to their mathcore roots. “The Embers” and “Stage Knives” see new drummer Tom Pitts seamlessly slip into the spastic beats Rolo Tomassi have continually incorporated at their core. The latter in particular pertains to the bleakness James Spence has described as central to the record (“I am nowhere, I am nothing/For a betrayal that’s how I should be seen/Wearing scars I deserve”), though such a notion certainly doesn’t engulf it. It rather remains forceful and forthright, emblazoned with the band’s vigour and animosity, two elements which typically feature whenever Rolo Tomassi are at their best.
Just how integral the band’s fervour is to their success however never comes to light more prominently than when it is found lacking. James Spence has spoken on the inclusion of strings on Grievances, broaching new ground for the band, and the need to try and ensure it doesn’t sound “tacked on”. It perhaps isn’t so much the strings themselves, however, but the wider intended aesthetic of such tracks which makes the record to be, at times, somewhat underwhelming and confusing. “Crystal Cascades” and its immediate successor, “Chandelier Shiver,” as can perhaps be gleamed merely from their titles, indulge in what translates as little more than pretension. They don’t mourn enough to provoke emotion, and they aren’t serene enough to truly quell the onslaught. They are merely passable, an adjective which is rarely used in discourse concerning Rolo Tomassi.
Elsewhere, we see further examples of the ways in which the band are trying to exploit the breadth of Eva Spence’s vocals, most effectively exhibited on the compelling atmospherics of “Opalescent.” Far from the nervous performer of the early days who relied on her ability to vocally shred anyone and anything in her way, Eva is ethereal and graceful, dictating pride of place amid an equally serene backing of keys and guitars. It is the drums and bass which give the track pace, pushing it in various directions, and heralding it as an important success. Closer “All That Has Come Before” however reminds us why it is that Rolo Tomassi have cultivated their name as, generally speaking, a mathcore band at heart. The male-female screaming partnership of Eva and James gives the band a dynamic which few other acts can boast, and the result is imposing. Such an impression is dampened however when Eva dons the overt and misplaced emotional bombast Evanescence made their name on, repeating the line ‘’I am aware/There is no glory, glory, in the air’’ over an increasingly tense, cacophonous wall of sound. Again, the adjective which fits best is unfortunately ‘passable’, testament to the work to be done if Rolo Tomassi hope to continue with such an aesthetic.
In the time period leading to the release of Grievances, James Spence in particular has spoken on the desire to try and move forward musically, accepting that perhaps Astraea wasn’t the progressive record they initially thought, and the intention that the new album would be very much a studio record, the band refusing to inhibit themselves by remaining cautious on what could and could not be included. All of that is fair enough, though it ignores the fact that what made Astraea so good was that, while perhaps not the leap forward the band intended, it epitomised and, at minimum, adapted what had come thus far. Grievances rather is the sound of a band in the midst of the race to the next stage; they’re just unsure exactly how to run it yet. It is telling that some of the album’s best moments come when it sticks to the formula which has featured from the start, a fact that reflects how development is important, but to rashly abandon your roots is artistic folly. There are clear glimpses that the route Rolo Tomassi hope to take is perfectly attainable, and the desire to experiment and change is at times intensely rewarding. They just need to ensure they don’t lose themselves along the way.
Rating: 3.5/5