Last year ended on a high for Manchester’s ROLLA as they hit arenas with Kasabian, opened for local legend Shaun Ryder, and were highlighted at #5 on The Sun’s 23 For 23 new artist rundown. The single ‘Ease My Mind’ provided a taste of their immense potential, with the band firing elements of The Verve, The Sex Pistols and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in a supercharged new sound, leading their first national airplay courtesy of John Kennedy at Radio X as well as a key tastemaker tip from Rolling Stone.
All that’s in the bag, so what’s next for ROLLA? A triple-shot of big moments, starting with today’s release of their new single ‘Hey You’. They will then drop their debut EP ‘Nothing Less Than Everything’ on April 5th before embarking upon a UK headline tour the following week.
ROLLA recently promised that they’re stepping up to be “bigger, louder and brighter than ever before” and ‘Hey You’ lives up to that mission statement. It distils a wealth of iconic rock reference points into one incendiary modern package: colossal grooves swinging like the missing link between The Stone Roses and Kasabian; the anthemic edge that has always infused the best of the Manchester scene; and heavyweight riffs firing like a reborn Led Zeppelin.
ROLLA commented, “‘Hey You’ is a full throttle modern rock ‘n’ roll anthem with subtle nods to the ’90s Madchester rave scene. We blended drum loops with growing guitars, grooving bass lines and roaring vocals in a beautiful blend of musical alchemy.”
As with the rest of the upcoming EP, ‘Hey You’ was written by ROLLA – James Gilmore (vocals), Luke McConnell (guitar), Luke Gilmore(bass), Tom Paddon (guitar) and Saul Bardsley (drums) – and was recorded at Rockfield Studios during a week of self-confessed “creative carnage” with production from Nick Brine (Oasis, Stone Roses) and mixing courtesy of Gareth Nuttall (The Lottery Winners, The K’s).
‘Hey You’ and ‘Ease My Mind’ are amplifying anticipation for the release of the ‘Nothing Less Than Everything’ EP. An electrifying powerhouse of rock ‘n’ roll attitude interspersed with a tender ballad, its lyrics focus on brotherhood, battling against the odds, and striving to achieve your goals regardless of anyone else’s opinion. It’s an EP that puts ROLLA on the first step towards filling arenas in their own right.
Tickets for the band’s upcoming UK headline tour are available HERE.
APRIL
12th – London, The Lower Third
13th – Birmingham, The Rainbow
14th – Manchester, Gorilla
‘Nothing Less Than Everything’ tracklist: