Rolo Tomassi – ‘Where Myth Becomes Memory’ [Album Review]

“There is no band on Earth quite like Rolo Tomassi” is quite a lofty statement to make so let’s hope that, by the end of Where Myth Becomes Memory, Rolo Tomassi’s first new music since 2018’s stunning Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It, whoever made that claim isn’t eating those words.

A band impossible to pigeonhole, the Sheffield outfit kicks off with the gentle, atmospheric “Almost Always” where you get the first exposure to vocalist Eva Korman’s dreamy, serene vocals. The kind of opener that immediately tosses your expectations out of the nearest window, the track’s tender tones make way for more familiar sounds as the band lurch into “Cloaked.”

Now, even as early as the second track, it’s clear to see that this is going to be an album of many moods as the jarring, stuttering hardcore weaves around Korman’s ridiculous range and the many textures that make up their sound. By the time the band arrives at “Mutual Ruin,” Rolo Tomassi is simply unstoppable. A beautiful piano intro bleeds into a wall of ferocious riffs which, for the next few minutes, do battle with Korman’s acid-drenched howls before the whole thing comes crashing to a heartwrenching, tender conclusion.

Whether they’re taking you on a journey of gentler, almost post-rock moments or sending you pinballing off down a more turbulent path, Where Myth Becomes Memory is an album that flows effortlessly through that journey, a journey that is equally as beautiful as it is terrifying. To demonstrate this, take the pairing of “Closer” and “Drip,” two tracks that sit side-by-side in the middle of this album. The former is one of those moments where the sound is a dreamy blend of mesmerizing yet heartbreaking beauty. The latter, on the flip side of that, sees them mix up face-rearranging hardcore with almost blasts of pop serenity.

The star of the show is undoubtedly vocalist Eve Korman. Longtime followers of the band will know she has the capacity to deliver both banshee-like screams and crazy cleans but nothing in Rolo Tomassi’s back catalogue can prepare you for her heart-stopping performance on this record. The fact that, without any warning, Korman can seemingly switch between almost pop-soaked cleans and feral, skin-melting screams as she does on “To Resist Forgetting,” makes her a true force with which to be reckoned.

Over the years, Rolo Tomassi has proved their diversity by sitting right at home alongside bands as musically diverse as Biffy Clyro and Dillinger Escape Plan. One listen to the layers, textures and, at times, downright chaotic sounds the group have crafted on this record and you will need no further proof that the band have learned from that wealth of experience, channelled it all into their art and now earned their place at the top of the pile. Yes, it might have taken them seventeen years to reach this point but, looping back to that opening statement, “there is no band on Earth quite like Rolo Tomassi” and the career-defining Where Myth Becomes Memory is proof of that.

Where Myth Becomes Memory Track Listing:

1. Almost Always
2. Cloaked
3. Mutual Ruin
4. Labyrinthine
5. Closer
6. Drip
7. Prescience
8. Stumbling
9. To Resist Forgetting
10. The End Of Eternity

Run Time: 48:15
Release Date: February 4, 2022
Record Label: MNRK