EP: The Rook – ‘The Rook’

The Rook are an unsigned four-piece from Bradford, forming back in 2012. Since their birth the band have played venues such as The Cockpit, Brudenell Social Club, The Wardrobe, The Key Club and also Sheffield’s Academy. After periods of relentless gigging, the band took some time out to record their latest EP,  recorded at Prospect Studios in their hometown.

The EP begins with ‘(Do You) Love To Feel?’, and does so in a mysteriously eerie fashion; with the beats of the drums, along with the picking of the guitar strings, it builds a huge amount of anticipation within your chest. Then the vocals enter the mix and the whole tracks shifts up a notch, maintaining a groove that is quite simply addictive. The track comes to an end with attitude as the guitar solo dominates – filling your ears with precisely the right notes to accompany the rest of the song, the whole track fits together rather sublimely.

Following the opener comes ‘Where I Belong’ and – it must be said – you can’t get much cooler than the opening riffs found in the track, nodding towards the likes of the first two Black Keys albums; the instruments demand to be heard and The Rook know they’ve hit the sweet spot here. The second track is equally as infectious as the first, with the pace and ferocity increasing even further, before dropping the track in a heartbeat with an abrupt ending. ‘Where I Belong’ is a cool, yet gritty, number, filled with charisma and a snarl that draws you in even further.

The EP is brought to an end with ‘Rectify!’ and once again, the beginning of the track is bang on the money. If one thing is apparent from this EP, it’s that The Rook have nailed the track openings right on the head. The vocals add more to the final track than they do to the others, also and the verses ooze an indistinguishable vibe. However, that being said, they accompany the instruments perfectly. The final track welcomes another piercing solo, another that has been crafted to scream style into your ears.

As the final number ends, I’m left satisfied; having never heard any previous material from The Rook before, I’m happy to say that as a result of this EP, I’m hungry for more.

The Rook welcome their eponymous new EP with a sold out launch show at Oporto in Leeds tomorrow.

James Cummins.
@CummyBear

James Cummins

James Cummins

James Cummins

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