ROOKIE’s debut album offers a new take on classic rock

ROOKIE is a group of six guys from Chicago who play heartland-style power pop. They released their self-titled debut album “ROOKIE” in 2020.

At the time, I had yet to hear about them, so the album failed to get on my radar.

It wasn’t until the legendary grunge duo Local H announced that ROOKIE would be opening for them on their upcoming tour that I caught wind of the group.

I’m very glad that this album didn’t slip through the cracks because this is one of the stronger debut albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in a while.

One part of this album’s production I find really enjoyable is the multi-tracking.

It’s not uncommon to hear bands try to save studio time by duplicating the same guitar track over itself and calling it a day, but the songs on this album really go the extra mile.

You might hear the same guitar riff played in different octaves in the left and right headphones, for example.

Slide and acoustic guitars are thrown in the mix to help give a bit of a blues-like feel and reinforce the main distortion guitars.

Another challenge a lot of records have is getting a balanced mix. When you have six members in a band it can be hard to ensure each instrument gets enough space in the mix to be audible, but ROOKIE has done a good job of it.

The guitar leads are all really crisp and clear, but the bass and keys aren’t buried underneath them. The keyboard sections, consisting of piano and organ tracks, help to fill out the mix and further build the wall of sound.

There’s also a good deal of depth in the songwriting. None of the vocal melodies are very complex or technical, but they’re all pleasant and help to make these songs catchy.

The rhythm section is built upon simple parts, but there’s a generous number of fills thrown in throughout which help make them interesting.

My favorite overall has to be the guitars, though. There’s an incredible number of guitar leads thrown into each song.

Many of the solos are slow and melodic, but there’s a couple shreddy and more technical ones as well to help mix things up.

A lot of these songs have extended instrumental passages to help give all of the different hooks time to shine.

It’s in those sections that many of the album’s best moments occur. If I can criticize this album for one thing it’s for being derivative.

It’s deeply rooted in the sounds of the past and the band makes no effort to hide where their influences come from.

What the album does offer is a refreshing take on the sound of classic rock. This album takes the framework of genre and uses modern recording techniques and skillful songwriting to hone it, creating a really enjoyable listening experience in the process.