Rolla – Hey You

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Image and artwork courtesy of Fear PR

Manchester’s Rolla follow up on their tour with Kasabian with their new single ‘Hey You’. The single is taken from their upcoming debut EP ‘Nothing Less Than Everything’ which will be released on April 5th.

It’s bizarre how a band so seminal as The Verve have remained so uninfluential these past 15 years. Exit Calm was a fine exponent of their work in the early part of the last decade but no one else has really stood up. Like buses, two have come at once in recent times from Manchester. There’s been Pastel, who have been beautifully in tune with delicate jams of ‘Storm In Heaven’. Whereas Rolla have pulled in the power of ‘A Northern Soul’ and the sprawling melody of ‘Urban Hymns’.

If Noel Gallagher had possessed Nick McCabe’s guitar ability then ‘Hey You’ could have been the sound of the Oasis’s third album. Luke McConnell and Tom Paddon’s guitars have that hissing power of Oasis’ live presence circa 95-97 but, with the deft touches of McCabe. The latter’s influence looms much larger creatively as the band takes you on a journey without a destination to free your soul. The yelps of ‘Rolling People’, the howling furore of ‘A New Decade’, and the perilous defiance of ‘Come On’ unite on what is, as close to pure art as rock ‘n’ roll can sound.

Frontman James Gilmore harness the more melodic moments of Tm Meighan’s time in Kasabian alongside a venom not yet seen. The demonic nature of Richard Ashcroft on ‘This IS Music’ and ‘No Knock On My Door’ ooze from his soul whilst his brother Luke’s bass throbs with the grooves of criminally underrated ‘Gravity grave’.

Rolla’s ascent to the top not only looks inevitable, it looks gloriously volatile. They throb with danger and excitement at every turn. They are reigniting the mysticism of the rock star and it’s intoxicating.

 Click here for the last remaining tickets for their UK tour:

Holy Youth Movement: The Social, London

Second up on This Feeling’s Test Tranmission night was Bristol’s Holy Youth Movement. They have been supporting headliners The Utopiates across the UK this past summer.

Back in the 00s, many bands tried to bridge the gap between rock ‘n’ roll and breaks. Kasabian and Radio 4 got the closest, although, if we’re honest, neither married the two to a level the scene deserved.

Step forward Holy Youth Movement!

Everything about them screams Kasabian debut, nu-school breaks, and 3am mayhem in nightclubs (remember them!). Previous singles ‘Information Is beautiful’ and ‘Tranquilizer’ explode into the ether like a Serge Pizzorno wet dream. The former is blessed with the melodic yet destructive synths of Justice vs Simian alongside the beauty and volatility of the Primals ‘XTRMNTR’. It allows their message of humanity to come together, no matter the chaos, to land instantaneously.

Images courtesy of Caffy St Luce

‘Tranquilizer’ however, does what all post ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ Kasabian albums have attempted and failed. It delivers a post-apocalyptic rave that throbs and thunders its way to the soul. The guttural electronica of Underground meets the spirit of BRMC ‘Whatever Happened to My Rock ‘n’ Roll’. It leaves the room feeling hollow afterward. It looked your soul in the eye, licked it, fucked it, and left whistling leaving you desperate for more.

It’s easy to see why the legendary Jagz Kooner hooked up with the band in the studio. Holy Youth Movement have tapped into the post-headliner twitching hours of Bestival and Secret Garden Party from 2005 to 2015. Crucial to the success of this live slot is their ability to enthral and show off like a rock ‘n’ band.  They’re not willing to just bring rock music to dance once again. They want both to be as one and, for the most part, they nailed this aim.