Tim Rayne’s Mini Review: Tonella – Compromise (EP)

Tonella is a band that happens to be fronted by Tonella Roy. A Fredericton four piece rock outfit that mixes genres with a hard rocking foundation, catchy pop melodies, and soulful crooning. Backed by strong production, the Compromise EP easily shifts from intimate piano ballads to hard crunching rock hooks. The lyrics are reflective and at times remorseful; however, the juxtaposition of melancholy only heightens the explosive musical bursts of hope and optimism. The confidence and song-craft demonstrated on Compromise illustrates Tonella’s dynamic range. Opening track, Never Coming Back Again fully captures the band’s poppy orchestration, highlighting the EP’s strengths. The combination of female and male vocals elevates the song in both lyrical themes and music composition. The EP’s title track Compromise follows, possibly the strongest song on the album. Catchy? Hell yea…sticks with you long after you listen to it. Tonella Roy’s powerful voice steals the show, along with the great key/electronic hook. Foolish Heart is the ballad on the record and it carries with it a heavy weight of past memories and lost love. The next track, Tell Tale Lie, breaks away completely into a rocky, jazzy up tempo party jam reminiscent of playful Queens of the Stone Age riffage. The EP closes with The Separation, a therapeutic rocker that brings the record to its thematic conclusion of love and loss. Tonella proves that ROCK is still alive in the Maritimes. Check them out at http://tonella.bandcamp.com/album/compromise