Rolo Tomassi are set to release their dynamic and stirring new album Where Myth Becomes Memory on 4 February 2022 via MNRK. The group returned last August with the single ‘Cloaked‘, which was their latest release since 2018’s Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It, the group’s most critically acclaimed album to date. Now Rolo Tomassi will complete their unintended trilogy of albums with Where Myth Becomes Memory, where 2015’s Grievances preceded Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It.
Where Myth Becomes Memory is a winding path of emotional indulgence to dabble in, blurring the lines of tranquility and destruction. Merging brutal and punishing guitars, powerful vocals and sparse, skeletal piano, the varying melodies working on one album should leave a listener with whiplash. Instead however, all elements blend in a bold and sensical way that manages to emotionally touch and shift between sounds with ease.
Opening track ‘Almost Always‘ is the longest track on the album at 6:30, luring listeners in with a sound that submerges one in dimensions of melancholy.
The album’s centrepiece ‘Closer‘ is an ethereal dive, working as an interval of sorts away from the sharp edges and shouts of tracks like ‘Labyrinthine.’ It’s a moment to breathe, to be swaddled in the soothing sound that Rolo Tomassi have by now familiarised listeners with.
Pre-released single ‘Drip‘ drags the listener into a barrage of noise and excitement, mixing hope, dreams and feelings of optimistic caution. A stand-out track, it’s unlike anything else you will hear.
Guitarist Chris Cayford explains a bit about the importance of ‘Drip‘: “When we start the writing process for each record, we always wait for the first song that clicks. It feels similar to our music but is also intangibly different to the extent we know it’s the next step and we need to build the album around it. This was the song that did that.”
‘Stumbling‘ is the album’s true serving of quiet and eerie, not to be underestimated by its short length. It tip-toes into the corners of a soul, settling there as the calm before the following storm, ‘To Resist Forgetting.’
Final track ‘The End of Eternity‘ perfectly showcases Rolo Tomassi’s handling of rough and smooth, rounding out the expansive album perfectly with silvery glimmers which fade out gently, allowing listeners to digest and bask in the raw beauty of Where Myth Becomes Memory.
Vocalist and pianist James Spence commented on the great significance of the upcoming release: “This is a really important album for all of us, of anything we’ve done, it’s the one I’m most proud of. I think it’s the most ambitious and creative that our band has ever sounded and something that we’ve all needed to get through the last few years. We can’t wait to share it and to have you help us bring it to life.”
Rolo Tomassi’s sound may be difficult to pigeonhole, but one thing’s for certain, the group have mastered the balance of soft and abrasive, dancing between worlds of wonder and the wild. This is Rolo Tomassi’s most ambitious and creatively gripping work to date.
The quintet have been announced for this year’s 2000trees Festival (a UK festival exclusive for 2022).
Where Myth Becomes Memory is available to pre-order and pre-save here.
Catch Rolo Tomassi on tour this February, tickets available here.
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