Giant Rooks have joined the wave of hugely good indie rock acts coming out of Germany right now. Similar to the singer of AnnenMayKantereit, Frederik Rabe of Giant Rooks sings with a deep, full-throated voice that speaks of passion and underlying anger that should fit someone twice his age…but on their recently released four-song EP The Times Are Bursting the Lines, this bunch of 18 year olds play and sing like a bunch of seasoned professionals.
Tight, raw, full of a strange mix of anger and optimism
Tight, raw, full of a strange mix of anger and optimism, I was shocked to find out that three of the band are still at school, and the other two, having left that institution only last year, are still doing minijobs to support themselves, in between playing a steadily growing round of festivals and support slots (on the tour of RAZZ and more recently opening up for heavy-hitters Kraftklub).
Reminiscent of German gems like AnnenMayKantereit but with the pop hooks of Joris
The four songs on the EP are between them reminiscent not only of German gems like the aforementioned AnnenMayKantereit and the slightly poppier Joris, but also of the best of British and US indierock bands, the well-orchestrated and somehow soothing arrangements of an early Coldplay, plus the jagged edges of Arcade Fire, cut into with a voice that’s somewhere between Van Morrison and Tom Waits.
I foresee great things for Giant Rooks
Their hit single off the EP is titled Småland, the place in Sweden where two of the band who are cousins spent summer holidays as kids, and it’s obviously symbolic: on the one hand for the lost innocence of childhood, and on the other for a place where you could get lost, breathe fresh air and be yourself.
With such a promising EP from this young band, I’m looking forward to what the album will be like. I foresee great things for Giant Rooks!
