Rolo Tomassi – Portland Arms, Cambridge, 29/09/08

03 October 2008, 15:00 | Written by Rich Hughes

(Live)

First up, I should come clean about something… I’m not really into hardcore punk / noise / shouting AT ALL. It does nothing for me. I like the riffs, the sheer heaviness of it all, but the shouting just leaves me cold. So, you might ask, what was I doing going to see Rolo Tomassi? Well, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. This is a band who seem to be bridging genres and scenes – cover stars for both the Plan B indie crowd and the Kerrang! metal heads. Tonight gave a idea of why…

Before we got to them though, we had the chance to witness some outrageous noise experiment from local collective Canaveral. A fluctuating line-up that tonight saw five drum kits (yes, FIVE drum kits), thrashed within inches of their lives. Thepresence of a saxophonist and a vocalist was merely superfluous as once the drums got going, there really was nothing else to hear. The small back room of the Portland throbbed achingly as people weren’t sure whether to run away screaming with hands over their ears or, like me, smile in some weirdly contented way.

Throats were the touring support, and were a touch more run of the mill. A slice of post-hardcore thrashing with a vocalist who tore his vocal chords apart shouting, barely able to register a whisper between songs. What was oddly unnerving was their bassist looked the spitting image of a young Roger Waters, but there was noprog-rock on display here. This was hard, fast, maximum riffage on an impressive level. My opening point confirmed when the promoter mentioned his surprise that I’d made it all the way through their set…

So as my ears slowly began to complain at the loudness of the evening, Rolo Tomassi strolled on stage. Now, if you’ve not seen RT’s female vocalist, Eva Spence, but had heard the band, you’re in for a shock. A small, pretty, blonde girl strolls on stage and the politely thanks the crowd for turning up. There then starts the crashing noise of their opening number, a guttural roar emerging from Spence’s tiny frame. It’s a sight to behold. Their sound is also a morphing middle ground between prog, hardcore and math. The twisting rhythms aping Battles or Foals whilst the guitar riffs sprawl into Steve Howe territory, all fronted by a howling banshee. Their only nod to the more straightforward of influences was a Trencher cover when guitarist Joe Nicholson replaced a broken string.

Rolo Tomassi are an adrenaline fuelled firefight of a band. There’s something intoxicating and exhilarating about watching a band who seemingly have created no barriers for themselves. They’re broadening their horizons each time they write music. Each release an improvement, movement and development over the last. I may not have been the biggest fan of their music prior to tonight, but leaving at the end of the show, my ears ringing (and continuing to do so for another 24 hours), I find myself oddly contented, as if I’ve witnessed something special.

Rolo Tomassi on Myspace