― Manalishi, Monday, 2 April 2007 20:19 (6 years ago) Permalink
― Manalishi, Thursday, 5 April 2007 02:55 (6 years ago) Permalink
― The Macallan 18 Year, Thursday, 5 April 2007 17:17 (6 years ago) Permalink
― Manalishi, Thursday, 5 April 2007 21:07 (6 years ago) Permalink
― barnaby, Thursday, 5 April 2007 22:02 (6 years ago) Permalink
― caek, Thursday, 5 April 2007 23:18 (6 years ago) Permalink
So, Rook. Pretty great, right?
― Simon H., Wednesday, 4 June 2008 18:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
I just got it yesterday - my first experience of the band. I think musically it's fantastic but I'm still coming around on the vocals. Technically they're outstanding but I also find them occasionally offputting. Second and third listen didn't bother me as much as first listen, though.
― pgwp, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 19:09 (4 years ago) Permalink
it's fantastic.
― sean gramophone, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 19:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
definitely a grower...agree that the vocals take a few listens to sink in...
― henry s, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 18:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
Never heard of these dudes before but Matador sent me the 12" apros of nothing, with a download card, and I'm just on my first listen now - I must say I can see why they sent it me; I'm loving it so far and can only see my affection for it growing.
― Scik Mouthy, Thursday, 12 June 2008 09:08 (4 years ago) Permalink
Man, were they right to send it to me.
― Scik Mouthy, Sunday, 22 June 2008 16:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
i still think the talk talk comparisons are off but rook is really amazing nonetheless
― akm, Sunday, 22 June 2008 16:45 (4 years ago) Permalink
There IS a big Talk Talk (or, more likely, Mark Hollis solo) influence, but it's totally overplayed, yes.
― Scik Mouthy, Sunday, 22 June 2008 16:57 (4 years ago) Permalink
have you heard their cover of "the rainbow," nick?
― Simon H., Sunday, 22 June 2008 17:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
I haven't; I gather it's on the b-side of the Rooks single? I'll try and pick the single up. Tiny Mixtapes said it was "laughably faithful" or something, but they also gave the album 2/5.
― Scik Mouthy, Sunday, 22 June 2008 17:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
Album of the year.
― Scik Mouthy, Tuesday, 24 June 2008 06:54 (4 years ago) Permalink
Liking this very much indeed; ta for the tip on the Fleet Foxes thread, Nick. Vocals still sound a bit like Richard Thompson in places.
― mike t-diva, Thursday, 26 June 2008 13:45 (4 years ago) Permalink
they are touring with coldplay in the states, so weird
― akm, Thursday, 26 June 2008 14:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
Here's that cover: http://stereogum.com/archives/tour-dates/shearwater-cover-talk-talk-jonathan-meiburg-leaves_009819.html
― jaymc, Thursday, 26 June 2008 18:01 (4 years ago) Permalink
I never really got how people thought they sounded like Talk Talk, and I was having a discussion at work about how Pitchfork was crazy for comparing them to Talk Talk, and this kid comes up with the CD and I said, "man I was just talking about this album," to which he responds, "Yeah, it sounds exactly like Talk Talk." I tried not to laugh.
I should tell this story more often.
― jonathan - stl, Thursday, 26 June 2008 18:51 (4 years ago) Permalink
There's a Talk Talk influence but I get Scott Walker meets Final Fantasy meets Kate Bush meets... something else, before Talk Talk.
― Scik Mouthy, Thursday, 26 June 2008 19:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
Definitely Final Fantasy. I think I like this band more than Okkervil River.
― jonathan - stl, Thursday, 26 June 2008 22:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
The reissue of Palo Santo was entirely re-recorded, right? The remakes I've heard sounded great. Another take on (and track from) the current one: http://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=1532
― dow, Friday, 27 June 2008 03:07 (4 years ago) Permalink
yeah "too much bbcode" if I try to post more than one link per post, so here's another PTW review of another Shearwater track: http://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=1676
― dow, Friday, 27 June 2008 03:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
Five trakcs of Palo Santo were re-recorded on the second disc, I understand - the first disc is the same mixes but mastered differently, I think. I've not heard the original so I'm just going off reviews here, though.
― Scik Mouthy, Friday, 27 June 2008 06:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
I don't really hear Final Fantasy, but I do think that "The Snow Leopard" sounds like a take on "Pyramid Song."
― jaymc, Friday, 27 June 2008 09:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yes, I think of "Pyramid Song" every time that one comes on.
― pgwp, Friday, 27 June 2008 20:03 (4 years ago) Permalink
Has Louis heard this yet? Awesome record.
― Scik Mouthy, Tuesday, 1 July 2008 19:29 (4 years ago) Permalink
Wait, what? THIS SHEARWATER DISC IS ALBUM OF THE YEAR?
― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 1 July 2008 19:36 (4 years ago) Permalink
For me, aye - this, followed by Elbow, The Do, Portishead, Fleet Foxes, Yothmovies, Spiritualized, the Four Tet EP. I love this. Reminds me of Wind In The Wires by Patrick Wolf.
― Scik Mouthy, Tuesday, 1 July 2008 20:32 (4 years ago) Permalink
Rook has succeeded in haunting me with his charms
― Zeno, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 16:21 (4 years ago) Permalink
anyone seen them live? should I? I suppose it will sell out so I'd better make a decision soon
― akm, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 16:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
a thin line between kitschy twee and art, coldplay/b&s and talk talk/scott walker. whatever you think about this record depends on which side you think dominates it.
― Zeno, Sunday, 6 July 2008 15:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
Way more rewarding than Coldplay, even if vocals can be too similar--Scott Walker yeah could be, and/or Gary Puckett And The Union Gap with input from Jimmy Webb and Burt Bacharach, the eco-gothic themes and atmospheres somewhat like Mary Shelley's The Last Man. Maybe some Lord Of The Flies, little bit: anyway "The Lost Boys" closer to Golding than Barrie (although the narratives and themes can't be reduced too easily; that Okkevil River connection does for lit smarts)
― dow, Sunday, 6 July 2008 16:54 (4 years ago) Permalink
they do open for coldplay on their current tour, and of course wayy better and intersting than coldplay, but i can see why it wont appeal to some people
― Zeno, Sunday, 6 July 2008 17:04 (4 years ago) Permalink
This might be the indie shmindie album of the year, though probably not the regular one. It really just sounds like a dressed-up singer-songwriter record to me, and the guy can definitely sing a little.
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 16 July 2008 20:47 (4 years ago) Permalink
I don't know, guys, after two spins, not feeling this one nearly as much as Palo Santo.
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Friday, 18 July 2008 23:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
It's so...twee and whiny...maybe the last album was too and I was too immediately smitten to notice?
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Friday, 18 July 2008 23:40 (4 years ago) Permalink
Twee and whiny are not words I recognise in relation to this record.
― Scik Mouthy, Saturday, 19 July 2008 07:41 (4 years ago) Permalink
It is mannered and at times dramatique, though.
― pgwp, Saturday, 19 July 2008 21:57 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yes but neither of those things are the same as twee or whiny.
― Scik Mouthy, Sunday, 20 July 2008 07:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
Has Louis heard this yet? It's too short and not prog enough for him, I suspect. Has a similar atmosphere to the last 65dos record - environmental paranoia - but presented in a more... mythological way. It's Tolkein rather than Threads, allegory rather than pseudo-documentary.
― Scik Mouthy, Monday, 21 July 2008 09:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
Listened to this a lot as I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy and they're now tied up together in my mind, not as close parallels but as vague allusions, thematic links, impressions of disaster and extreme emotion. Rook resolves itself, though; the piano chords and vocal melody on the final song, after the traumatic, too-brief-but-just-right climax of The Snow Leopard, with the horn, that blast atop the mountain,and then nothing, and then these really gentle chords and this delicate, melancholy, but uplifting melody... it's like the guitar-as-sunlight-breaking-clouds intro to New Grass, but sweeter, less desolate. The world hasn't ended and been reborn, as in Laughing Stock, but... perhaps humanity has left it, and nature has gladly taken over again?
More bollocks later.
― Scik Mouthy, Monday, 21 July 2008 09:31 (4 years ago) Permalink
Has anyone made the 'Ditchwater more like' gag yet?
― Matt DC, Monday, 21 July 2008 09:32 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, I think so.
― Scik Mouthy, Monday, 21 July 2008 09:44 (4 years ago) Permalink
you know what this album really sounds like, though? Tori Amos. in a good way.
― akm, Monday, 21 July 2008 17:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
ok OK let's pay amazon.co.uk a little visit
― Just got offed, Monday, 21 July 2008 17:44 (4 years ago) Permalink
another vote for this (Rook). Gorgeous album.
― bakerstreetsaxsolo, Monday, 21 July 2008 21:46 (4 years ago) Permalink
Album of the year so far for me, that and The Brother Kite's new one.
― MaresNest, Tuesday, 23 September 2008 09:29 (4 years ago) Permalink
its ok. its like a semi plugged in version of the czars with a worse singer. and a bird fixation.
― Booker van Permalink (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 24 December 2008 19:14 (4 years ago) Permalink
sorry wrong album reference-- ive been listening to rook.
― Booker van Permalink (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 24 December 2008 19:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
i am *finally* listening to this album
― POLLonius (country matters), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 12:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
I take it you mean Rook rather than Palo Santo? Although PS is also good.
― Sickamous Mouthall (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 12:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
er yeah I mean Rook
― POLLonius (country matters), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 12:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
no mention of Neutral Milk Hotel on this thread so far
― POLLonius (country matters), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 12:51 (4 years ago) Permalink
(semi-trolling there but only semi)
Actually, I'm liking this.
― POLLonius (country matters), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 12:52 (4 years ago) Permalink
"Century Eyes" is balling! Probably the most immediate track so far. And now Nick Drake has taken over the album.
― POLLonius (country matters), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 12:54 (4 years ago) Permalink
Obv "Snow Leopard" is gorgeous, but y'all probably knew that already
― POLLonius (country matters), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 13:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
yeah yeah ok you were right, i totally slept on this
― POLLonius (country matters), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 13:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
*chalks another one up*
― Sickamous Mouthall (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 13:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
You got the Notwist album, right? You're aware of it's subtle, alchemical beauty, right?
― Sickamous Mouthall (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 13:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
The Notwist album is also on Spotify, so I'll be listening to it later, I suspect. Have a job interview in the meantime. :D
― POLLonius (country matters), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 13:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
(Might give a couple of tracks a go after my 2nd listen-thru of Rook)
― POLLonius (country matters), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 13:33 (4 years ago) Permalink
rook ended up being my #4 album of 08. the structure and pacing of it is pretty much flawless.
― He grew in Pussyville. Population: him. (call all destroyer), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 13:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
I said this elsewhere but Rook, for me, is like mushrooms--not the drugs, but the food. Sorta delicious and repellent at the same time. Sometimes I'm really drawn in by this album; other times the guy's affectations just gross me out. Often it's the same moment in a song that does both. Still, the one long song, I think it's track 3 (don't have it nearby), puts me off more than it turns me on. That's the one song that ultimately keeps me from shouting "superb! superb! superb!"
― scott pgwp (pgwp), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 20:18 (4 years ago) Permalink
Sometimes I feel bloody proud to be a corny indie fuxxor, and "The Snow Leopard" is one such time.
― leigh exodus (country matters), Friday, 20 March 2009 14:51 (4 years ago) Permalink
"rooks" is p rad song mb the best on the whole album
― THE SAIYANS ARE A PROUD WARRIOR RACE (Lamp), Saturday, 12 December 2009 08:57 (3 years ago) Permalink
btw it is maybe the second-best song idk
― half bran half triscuit (acoleuthic), Saturday, 12 December 2009 09:08 (3 years ago) Permalink
tht abt doing a drunken liveblog thing in memoriam display names past tbh but
which one is best? "snow leopard"?
― THE SAIYANS ARE A PROUD WARRIOR RACE (Lamp), Saturday, 12 December 2009 09:15 (3 years ago) Permalink
yh obv sry
― half bran half triscuit (acoleuthic), Saturday, 12 December 2009 09:15 (3 years ago) Permalink
wow I just caught the direct quote from Van Morrison's "You Don't Pull No Punches..." in "Home Life". weird!
― fire-rated aeroplane components I have melted (bernard snowy), Thursday, 23 August 2012 10:02 (8 months ago) Permalink
I never really investigated anything that followed, though I went back to Palo Santo and quite enjoyed that.
http://sickmouthy.com/2013/02/17/shearwater-rook-2008/
― they all are afflicted with a sickness of existence (Scik Mouthy), Sunday, 17 February 2013 09:27 (3 months ago) Permalink
Ehh, none of the records that have come since are half as good.
― Simon H., Sunday, 17 February 2013 12:19 (3 months ago) Permalink
nice writeup on rook xp
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 17 February 2013 14:23 (3 months ago) Permalink