Rook (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Rook
Type = Album
Artist = Shearwater

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Recorded = November 2007, Echo Lab, Argyle, Texas
Released = June 3, 2008
Genre = Indie rock
Producer = Jonathan Meiburg
Label = Matador Records
Reviews = *"Allmusic" Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fnfexzejld0e link]
*"Pitchfork Media" (8.0/10.0) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/50932-rook link]
*"PopMatters" rating-10|9 [http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/58661/shearwater-rook link]
*"musicOMH" Rating|4|5 [http://www.musicomh.com/albums/shearwater-2_0508.htm link]
*"The Skinny" Rating|4|5 [http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/42789-shearwater-rook link]
*"Crawdaddy! (favorable) [http://crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com/Article.aspx?id=7576 link]
*"Tiny Mix Tapes" Rating|1|5 [http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Shearwater link]
Last album = "Palo Santo" (2006)
This album = "Rook" (2008)
Misc =

"Rook" is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Shearwater. It was released on 3 June, 2008 on the Matador Records label. The track "Rooks" is the first single from the album. The album was previewed on May 5, 2008 and May 29, 2008 at two special concerts that took place in Manhattan and Austin, Texas. [citeweb|url=http://www.shearwatermusic.com/node/66|title= SW Presents Rook Live May 5th (NYC) & May 29th (Austin)|publisher=Shearwater Music|author=Shearwater|date=2008-04-07] The band is touring in support of the album throughout the rest of 2008. The album gained the band a spot on Entertainment Weekly's "Must List" on May 28. [citeweb|url=http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/05/the-must-list-s.html|title=The Must List: Shearwater's flights of fancy|publisher=Entertainment Weekly|date=2008-05-28|author=Adrienne Day]

Shearwater released the album both on CD and vinyl, with the vinyl version having an extra bonus track called "North Col".cite web|url=http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2008/05/2106.cfm|publisher=Chart Attack|title=Shearwater Move Their Rook Out|date=2008-05-21]

Meiburg said he chose the title for the sound of the word and the fact that it has multiple meanings.web cite |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/49532-shearwaters-meiburg-talks-irooki-birding-okkervil| title=Shearwater's Meiburg Talks Rook, Birding, Okkervil |publisher=Pitchfork Media|author=Matthew Solarski |date=2008-03-27] The theme of birds recurs frequently with the band, from their name to titles of songs and albums (for example, "Sing, Little Birdie" and "Winged Life"). Meiburg is an ornithologist.

Music

The album features harp, glockenspiel, woodwind, and a hammer dulcimer among more conventional instruments such as guitar and piano.Cite web|url=http://www.matthewbarnhart.com/2007/11/15/shearwater-rooks-recording-days-uhh/|title=Shearwater “Rook” recording, days. . . uhh. . .|author=Matthew Barnhart|date=2007-11-15] cite web|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/50932-rook|title=Pitchfork Media review|publisher=Pitchfork Media|date=2008-06-04] The track "Rooks" features an overdub of piano being played backwards. The album was produced by co-founder Jonathan Meiburg.

Lyrics

The lyrics of "Rook" are mainly focused on themes of nature and fairytale.cite web|url=http://www.musicomh.com/albums/shearwater-2_0508.htm|title=Shearwater - Rook|accessdate=2008-09-20]

Critics

The response from critics has been positive. At "Metacritic", which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 86, based on 16 reviews.cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/shearwater/rook | title=Rook: Reviews | work=Metacritic | publisher=CNET Networks, Inc | accessdate=2008-07-01 ] Pitchfork Media called it "impressive and uniformly gorgeous" and gave it an 8 out of 10 rating.

Track listing

# "On the Death of the Waters" - 3:08
# "Rooks" - 3:21
# "Leviathan, Bound" - 2:52
# "Home Life" - 7:15
# "Lost Boys" - 2:24
# "Century Eyes" - 2:18
# "I Was a Cloud" - 5:12
# "South Col" - 2:35
# "The Snow Leopard" - 5:08
# "The Hunter's Star" - 4:00

ingles

* "Rooks" (May 27, 2008), 7" vinyl
** b/w: "The Rainbow" (recorded live at the Crocodile Cafe, Seattle; Talk Talk cover) - 9:47

References

External links

* [http://www.shearwatermusic.com Shearwater's official site]
* [http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/?p=1275 Matador Records press release] (includes a promo mp3 of single "Rooks")
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d231BbE-3T0 Live performance of "Rooks" at SXSW]