Rolo Tomassi - Musical Style

Musical Style

Their music has been difficult to classify simply because of the band's resistance to being identified with one single genre. Described as "like a polished chrome King Crimson for the 21st Century" they have typically been acknowledged as being mathcore, they've been identified as "falling somewhere between grindcore, progressive and alternative rock" and have been described as "progressive hardcore".

Their earlier work's primary elements are their use of jazz breakdowns and swapping chaotically between explosive mathcore, calm atmospheric experimental music and acid-jazz. Their music is also noted for sharing traits with Nintendocore for the use of 8-bit synthesizers and in terms of chaos and sound. The compilation album Eternal Youth by the band gave insight into their musical development since their inception in 2005 with their demos onto their latest b-side releases with Hassle records. Their style developed further into their pop, ambient, shoegaze and space rock elements for their third album Astraea and has been jokingly dubbed as cosmic-core.

The band utilises two vocalists in their music, a quality which "immediately creates a rich and textured sonic world". Eva Spence's vocal style was acknowledged by Michael Wilson of the BBC as bi-polar; swapping between "fragile lullabies to blood-curdling scowls". Her singing voice is in a soprano range and has been compared to the dream pop stylings of Alison Goldfrapp of Goldfrapp and Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins.

Their influences are said to range through screamo, classical, jazz and progressive rock. The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Mars Volta, Blood Brothers, Converge, King Crimson and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane are all considered influences on Rolo Tomassi's work. Rolo Tomassi have noted how The Dillinger Escape Plan are a huge influence on the band, with Edward Dutton in an interview saying that "they’re one of the few stock bands that you can draw from one of the five of us". The fractured structure of their songs are considered to be heavily influenced by The Mars Volta. Ryan Bird of Rocksound cites At The Drive-in's album Relationship of Command as an influence on Rolo Tomassi's work, saying "opening the mainstream's mind toward fiercely confrontational, independent rock, it was unthought-of that a band like Rolo Tomassi could be successful pre-ROC ."