I've been coming across a surprising amount of misleading material lately in terms of what appear to be short EP's turning out to be mammoth full-lengths chock full of some pretty punishing material. That can definitely be said of the 
Another Chicago outfit on Underground Communique, "Work Slow Crush Foes" is the first full-length from Rollo Tomasi, following their debut EP. This is some pretty interesting material that blends a hint of angular and hard-edged indie rock type of stuff (in more of a DC-ish or Amphetamine Reptile way than what most people are going to think of as "indie rock") with driving post-hardcore rhythms and some unexpectedly catchy and more openly melodic or rocked out moments that almost remind me of Seaweed at times. Those chunks of memorable riffing and vocal work really hook me into this album, because upon the initial listen I really wasn't expecting many of those moments to present themselves, but the songwriting's quite effective in that regard. And it's also worth mentioning that these guys have somewhat of an individual approach going on as well, because even though several reference points are immediately noticeable, the end result is still sort of sitting on its own playing field. This is also another that boasts an excellent recording that's clear as shit with a great bass presence hovering just behind the aptly crunchy and dissonant guitars and the warm percussion—allowing them to get just noisy enough when they want to, but without sacrificing any sense of cohesive control from a performance standpoint. I'm all over that guitar tone, which is just perfect for what they're doing. I also find these cats to be working with some well written lyrics that have sort an abstract flow. The contents are clear enough to let the listener glean meaning, but even the socio-politically tinged material has an open-endedness to it that really works nicely. Good stuff.
Rollo Tomasi "Advanced Automation"
Rollo Tomasi "My Limbs"
Same as always. If you're into the tunes, purchase the disc for yourself:
