RISO Band

For New Eyes, Arizona folk music powerhouses Matt Rolland and Rebekah Sandoval Rolland have come full circle. Their band, RISO, is the culmination of a musical lifetime spent together – and the album is a document of the ebb and flow of the last decade of their lives as students, musicians, and, more recently, parents. Rolland and Rebekah bring very different influences to the table despite their shared culture, and the interplay is on full display on New Eyes. Rolland’s history as a fiddle player in the Texas and bluegrass styles shows itself in nimble, quick melodic lines. Sandoval Rolland’s fascination with old-time music comes out in speech-driven, “crooked” rhythms and unexpected phrasing. From the Latin word for “smile” or “laughter,” RISO synthesizes that push and pull. It embraces an old-time aesthetic that seems to emanate from the very bones of the earth yet incorporates pop flourishes and sometimes complex arrangements to get the message across.