Rolo Tomassi - Grievances (album stream)

Sheffield genre bending favourites Rolo Tomassi return with their anticipated fourth studio album this June.

The experimental five-piece present 'Grievances', a follow-up to 2012's 'Astraea'.

"Having spent the last year crafting this new record we're all really excited to show everyone what we've been working on and to continue developing this band," Keyboardist/vocalist James Spence states.

To coincide, Killyourstereo.com helps stream the album ahead of its release (listen below).

*Scroll below the stream to read a feature interview with the band and view album pre-order links.

'Grievances' is out June 5 via Shock.

Rolo Tomassi aren’t afraid to explore genre boundaries. What was the main focus going into ‘Grievances’?

The main focus is always to write a better record than the last one. With this album specifically we wanted to build on the sound we’d developed on our last full length Astraea. We started with a cluster of songs we knew would work in any live environment from a basement to a stage at an outdoor festival and set about writing tracks that gave the feeling of one full movement of music. The album was very much structured to be listened to as one whole piece. Almost like a soundtrack in some ways.

These days the build-up for an album is almost as involved as once the album is out and the touring begins. What’s it been like handling things like the social media promotion and coordinating pre-orders packages and album offers with your label etc.?

Absolutely. It’s been a really smooth process fortunately. At four albums in we’re more than used to it! It’s important to find a delicate balance of making sure people are aware of what you’re doing without pushing it too much in their faces before they’ve even heard any of it as we still have to think about the fact we’ll be touring it for around 18 months and will have to be pushing other announcements for the foreseeable future.

Speaking of social media, just a cursory look at your FB page, you seem to engage and respond to fans comments. How important is it to maintain a strong sense of interaction with your fans?

Yeah, it’s definitely important for us to make sure we answer any questions people have and we’re happy to. Ultimately these are the people who are spending money on what we do and making touring a possibility for us so we always make sure we engage and make sure people are aware that we’re appreciative of their support.

These days most albums are released across most platforms: physical CDs, vinyl, cassettes, digitally, from a personal perspective, what’s your favourite platform to listen to music?

I buy more vinyl more than anything else. I still prefer listening to records in my room more than anything but I wouldn’t say I was too snobby or precious about it. I end up listening to lots of music digitally too.

You teamed up with some of our local boys in Stockades for a split previously. How did that initially come about?

We toured Australia with them in 2013 and got on famously. It made sense to celebrate our friendship and commemorate the tour with a split release.

Speaking of Australian music, what are some of your favourite Aussie bands currently?

A colleague put me on to Förstöra earlier this year. Their full length is fantastic.

This is your 10^th year as band. That’s a significant achievement. Most people take a band’s longevity for granted, but to survive a decade is certainly meaningful. What factors have contributed to this continuity?

A genuine love of what we do. It’s still what I enjoy the most, I still get so much out of it and have a lot more to give to it. I’ve been very fortunate to find a group of people who are equally as passionate about making music and we all get along. That’s crucial.

Pre-order the Vinyl via Shock online HERE

Pre-order the CD via Shock online HERE

Pre-order the Vinyl via JB Hi-Fi HERE

Pre-order the CD via JB Hi-Fi HERE