I really thought the band had found its identity with their last record, Palo Santo, and I was looking forward to an even more solid realization on the next release. But it sounds as though they have lost their way slightly. Too much of Rook sounds like an uninspired, formless, experimental half-effort, as though the band was faltering about where to go after Palo Santo. Too often, Jonathan Meiburg's vocals seem to fall back into old patterns from Palo Santo (compare that drop to the minor key at the end of the verse on "Rooks" with the exact same on Palo Santo's "Red Sea, Black Sea" as well as the similar tinge of it on Rook's "Leviathan Bound," and you get the idea.) "On the Death of the Waters" sounds like it could be an amorphous, workshop version of Palo Santo's "Hail, Mary." (Of course, the bonus track "North Col" follows roughly the same template as "Hail, Mary," only faster and more compact. But the song creates such an entirely different atmosphere-not to mention it is just a very beautiful song in itself. So, sometimes building off of past songs is a good thing.) And, in my opinion, Meiburg relies a little too much on his falsetto voice; at times it comes dangerously close to being gimmicky, and is a dissonant distraction on some parts of some compositions. While it is lovely-to-breathtaking (especially live) and perfect for most moments, it can be tiring on the ear at times on this and past albums (though I've noticed some more welcome variation on Rook.) Meiburg's lower registers are just as powerful, beautiful, and moving, and would serve the songs better at some points. This album has its own very gorgeous moments: "Home Life" and "The Snow Leopard," with their expansive, solid orchestration and vocals, are the gems of the bunch, and hopefully a foreshadowing of the direction for the next release. What is frustrating is that more than a few of the songs have an equal share of beautiful and provocative moments with some that fall flat. "Century Eyes," for example, drones monotonously along until the chorus, and then my ears perk up. To me it is as though Shearwater is trying to go forward, and has balked at the edge of entering the next territory, so they are just kind of hanging around in the old one. Which would be fine, if that territory still yielded what it did in the past. They have managed a few steps on "Rook." But as for me, I'll be sticking to my copy of Palo Santo and waiting to see if Shearwater takes off on their next release.
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