Rook and the Ravens
Deaf Institute
22nd October
5 stars
Local alternative rock 5-piece, Rook and the Ravens, returned to Manchester on Saturday to launch their new EP and with an ever growing fan base across the UK and Ireland, the band played to a sold out audience of fans and friends at Deaf Institute.
After intimate performances from support acts The Quangos and John Ainsworth, Rook and the Ravens emerged to play a set of new and already well-loved material from their first album Sixteen Holes in Sixteen Souls. With the release of a brand new video ‘The Judge’ just prior to the gig, excitement and expectations were high.
Kicking off proceedings with new track ‘The Judge’, the audience were immediately introduced to a heavier sounding, angular classic rock riff, exhibiting the retro organ sound the band have embodied along with more traditional folk melodies. Playing favourites from their eclectic back-catalogue they managed to enrapture, with delicate acoustic numbers, as well as rocking out with articulate, high energy tracks like ‘Little Rib’.
After a rapturous reception, the band returned to play a 2-song encore, finishing the night with live favourite ‘Horses’. Humbled and appreciative, Rook and the Ravens are refreshingly genuine and original in their craft. Fashion and marketing opportunity tends to be more of an influence to whether new music is successful these days, but with the talent these guys posses there is some hope for us lot who miss the days of real rock bands.
