Rolla - Not Today Old Friend

Rolla

Not Today Old Friend
self-released; 2025

TOP ALBUM

By Matt Jensen

Rolla’s, the solo project of Vancouver multi-instrumentalist Vallen Koscheev, arrives fully formed on Not Today Old Friend, a debut EP that dials into emotional complexity with the precision of math rock and the haze of noise and slowcore.

Known for his work behind the drum kit in bands like Name Killer Birchenson and softhead, Koscheev now stretches into more exploratory terrain. The influences are clearly mapped: Pretend, Jean Jean, Devon Welsh. But the execution feels personal. The project doesn’t just nod to those artists; it metabolizes them into something twitchy, fractured, and oddly moving. It is an EP preoccupied with disconnection and proximity, but its sound is anything but distant.

“Holidays Are Just Around the Corner” opens the record, and I was immediately drawn in by the guitar work. It is tight but not sterile, melodic but never obvious. There is a controlled chaos here, with syncopation that gives the track a jagged pulse. It occasionally veers into prog territory, but the emotional throughline keeps it grounded.

The second track, “Sitting Here Depressed When I'm Surrounded by the Happiest People in the World,” is both a mouthful and a standout. The grooves unfold in strange patterns, fluid but off-kilter, landing somewhere between post-rock and jazz. I kept thinking of Do Make Say Think, especially in the way the song lets its ideas land without forcing resolution. The time signatures twist and stretch in unexpected ways, but nothing feels performative. It is just how the music breathes.

“Let's Go to the Old Mill Anyway to Get Some Cider” might be my favorite. The technicality is on full display, but it never comes at the cost of feeling. It is melodic and rhythmically inventive, but more importantly, it is immersive. There is a warmth that cuts through the complexity. I found myself completely locked into the groove.

“This Omniscient Point of View Has Some Bonuses” shifts things again, leaning into something more cinematic. The beat feels more present, the atmosphere more engulfing. It reminded me of Mogwai’s more understated moments, but with an edge that feels digitally scrambled. At one point the tempo accelerates wildly, like the track is being torn open from the inside.

The closer, “Father of the Year, Pal, Father of the Year,” lands with a heavy elegance. Crescendos build and break, and the middle section hits especially hard. It is a great sendoff.

The vocals throughout feel more like texture than narrative. They arrive when needed but never dominate. That choice works in favor of the EP’s cohesion. Not Today Old Friend reads like a single thought fractured into five movements. It is emotionally raw, technically intricate, and surprisingly unified. 

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