READERS’ CHOICE: THE JAMES ELLROY EDITION

I think we’ve gotten a bunch of reader e-mails about Britain’s Rolo Tomassi over the past few months, including one last week from Pazuzu. And then this morning Hairyman mentioned them in the comments section. I’d been avoiding Rolo Tomassi because, well, I just assumed they sucked — because a) they all dress like they’re in The Arcade Fire and I’m shallow like that, and b) their name is a reference to L.A. Confidential, and bands that pull their monikers from pop culture often turn out to be really, really bad, and not as funny/clever as they think they are. But then I remembered how long it took me to give The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza a serious listen for that same reason, and thought about how much I like TTDTDE, and decied to get over myself and check out Rolo Tomassi’s MySpace page. And…

…they’re good! Not great, but good. I’d be curious to hear some more. But not right now. Y’know what I mean? I’ve got other things to do, and this doesn’t make me jump outta my skin or anything. They’re apparently opening for The Dillinger Escape Plan on that band’s UK tour this autumn, and that makes sense. If that tour came to America, I’d get there early to check out Rolo Tomassi live. Sure, why not?

In case you’re not one of the readers who e-mailed us, here’s the band’s video for “Party Wound.” Weigh in with your thoughts below.

-AR