09.29.08

It’s not for the cock, it’s for the hysteria

Posted in G-Town, Gigs at 3:05 pm by Gavin Williams

Rolo Tomassi/Mirror! Mirror! @ The Old Blue Last, London, Monday 22 Sept

Tonight is the launch night for “Hysterics”, the debut album from Sheffield noise psychopaths Rolo Tomassi and promises to be a well deserved celebration gig for the band. It’s a Monday night but any wet blankets are left out of mind; it’s trendy London and it’s free so, along with the fact that Rolo Tomassi are starting to whip up a bit of a media storm around them right now, the venue is absolutely packed- from the front to back of the room, up and down the stairs and spilling out into the smoky streets- there’s a real buzz of genuine excitement rippling about the place.

First on though are a bunch of strikingly young midlands boys by the name of Mirror! Mirror!. With guitar straps so high they must surely restrict the air flow to the brain and shirts done up to the top button, they jerk in funky, spazzy rhythms almost exactly how you’d expect them to. However, there’s just something about this band that draws you in. As much they sound like a butch Foals or a sensitive Rapture, when watching them live in all their energetic, angular, ramshackle-yet-tight glory, you have to concede that Mirror! Mirror! are actually really fucking good. Watch this band and don’t take your eye off them.

By the time Rolo Tomassi are ready to hit the stage the Old Blue Last is already a heaving, sweaty mass of bodies. However, compared to the situation roughly two minutes later, this feels like a walk in the park on a breezy day while eating falafel.

As they launch into their jagged, brain crushing music, the place literally instantly erupts in a constant flow of stage divers, moshpits and crowd surfers. The music of Rolo Tomassi deserves and demands no less than this type of reaction. With elements from accross the musical spectrum, the band splice together bleepy synths, doomy drums and swirling, disorientating guitars to great effect. On top of this is the voice of Eva Spence which leaps wildly from the cutesy and atmospheric to the bone splintering and head shattering roar of such songs as “Film Noir”. Her onstage persona dips and dives with her vocal parts, too. At points she is almost shy, giving bemused and amused looks to the furious headbangers at the front, the next minute she is flinging her head back for an almighty scream that scrapes the pit of your stomach.

Rolo Tomassi are a ridiculously tight band. What with songs that can sound initially confusing, they jump form grindcore to melodic jazzy parts on what seems like nothing more than a whim yet it works fantastically. Whilst working their way through rhythms that make your head feel like crazy paving and time signatures that puke all over the place, they still manage to be a visually exciting live prospect.

Despite the increasing interest around Rolo Tomassi, there is a very apparent lack of the pretentious air that often lingers like dog shit on new upcoming bands that may be considered the new media darlings. Tonight is a celebration of the rise of this band, a fairly unlikely rise it could be said, and is neither an industry backslap or a mates only club (although many people from these two categories are present, it is much more of a free for all atmosphere): everyone simply throws themselves head first into the deliciously dangerous carnage of this jagged performance. Rolo Tomassi tonight were scary for some, familiar to many and eye poppingly exciting for everyone involved. It doesn’t even need to be said, but do yourself a massive favour and see this band live if you never have.

 

http://www.myspace.com/rolotomassi

“Hysterics” is out now.

http://www.myspace.com/mirror

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