Boss Volenti

Boss Volenti are a four-piece indie rock group from Dublin, Ireland. Their backward-looking mixture of classic rock, '80s pop, and punk has invited comparisons to U.S. hard rock heavyweights Kings of Leon and Queens of the Stone Age, helped in no part by frontman Rob Daly's thinly veiled soul influences and his gruff, pidgin Southern twang. Boss Volenti were formed as a three-piece in 2003 by bass-playing vocalist Daly and guitarist Dan O'Connor. Band politics led to the original drummer's departure in 2004; however, by that time the remaining pair had amassed a considerable body of material and a replacement was soon sought. While finding a suitable drummer turned out to be a more difficult task than originally planned, Boss Volenti's numbers were soon back to three following the addition of guitarist Laura Mackey. The three began demoing new material without a drummer in 2005. By chance, the group happened to be working in the same studio as onetime Therapy? drummer Graham Hopkins, who was so enamored with the material he heard that he agreed to join the group soon afterward, his own project Halite having been put on hold. Boss Volenti made their live debut as a four-piece at Dublin's Hard Working Class Heroes Festival in September of 2005, and were invited a month later to Tony Wilson's In the City label showcase in Manchester, England. They spent much of the following year honing their sound and adding the final touches to their studio debut, Boss Volenti, which was released independently in September of 2006. ~ Dave Donnelly, All Music Guide