ROLLA PACK a PUNCH with their New EP: We Owe You Nothing

Photo Credit: ROLLA

Manchester raises music legends like nowhere else, and the next new kids on the block to come from the belly of the music beast are ROLLA.

Their debut single, Thinking of Tomorrow, released back in 2020, sent a strong message about who they are and what they want to achieve. Bold anthems characterised by powerful riffs, a heavy bassline, and irresistibly catchy choruses have built the EPs that ROLLA have since released, and firmly established their place in the industry as a force of rock ‘n’ roll.

ROLLA are effortlessly resuscitating alternative rock, with a sound akin to The Verve, Kasabian, a touch of Nirvana, and of course, Manchester’s Magnum Opus: Oasis. Lead singer, James Gilmore, even has the Liam Gallagher drawl to go with it.

Self described as ‘pure rock ‘n’ roll’, ROLLA’s sound isn’t new or unique, but it’s exactly that which gives them their charm. And I’m glad their new EP, We Owe You Nothing, which dropped last week, hasn’t surrendered their revival of a genre that swept society up in a storm three decades ago.

As a lover of alternative rock and a mourner of its retreat into the shadows, I revere bands like ROLLA for nurturing its creeping return. ROLLA offer refined, indulgent nostalgia with their adrenaline-inducing guitar riffs and sonic conveyance of a grungy ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude that’s immediately punched home with the title track of their new EP.

We Owe You Nothing is a bold statement, and one that ROLLA pull off with confidence and a thundering tune. True to the band’s reputation, the track kicks off with dominating guitar hooks and a bassline that thrums in your bones. A little heavier than their previous releases like Hey You and Ease My Mind, the pulverising instrumentals conspire together to form a formidable ballad.

The soaring vocals singing ‘We owe you nothing / So come on and stop me’ imbues the already spunky message with extra intensity. The song maintains its spirited thrum and vigour to devise a powerful three minutes, before petering out to introduce the funky notes that start the next track, It Ain’t Easy.

Released as a single earlier in 2024, the structure of this EP’s second tune was shaped under the guidance of Kasabian’s Serge Pizzorno, who the band had strutted on stage with to open for in 2022.

It Ain’t Easy draws on the ups and downs of life, which is equally well-communicated by the loose and laidback vocals that help to balance the tune’s deeper, full-bodied instrumentals.

The star of this EP, however, is ROLLA’s boasting of their sonic range, Beautiful Lie. Musical whiplash to their usual sound, the band show off their varied spectrum with a track that challenges their own status quo.

Opening with acoustic chords that illuminate a softness in James’ vocals, the track explores a rawness and vulnerability that ROLLA’s usual swaggering sound coverts – and they pull it off seamlessly. Beautiful Lie falls deeper in touch with the angsty indie notes of 90s rock to relay something honest and sincere, yet just as powerful.

The mercurial shift into the EP’s closing track, The Slide, throws us out of this emotional reverie with a feverish explosion of rock. This really is what ROLLA are all about, and the band take it in their stride to end the EP with their signature anthem intensity.

ROLLA certainly know how to pack a punch, and this EP set out to prove it to us. Bold, heady, and redolent of a revered, influential era of music, We Owe You Nothing perfectly encapsulates what the Mancunian quintet have to give.

We Owe You Nothing, by ROLLA, is out now on all streaming platforms:

With appropriately credited references, Text Copyright 2025 © Esme Campbell/ADRENALINE Magazine.