Glasgow’s rising stars The Rooks have officially crashed the indie-rock party with their debut EP Noise & Confusion, out now, and yes, it’s absolutely worth the wait. After months of teasing, playing feral live sets, and amassing a fanbase that’s borderline cultish, the five-piece have finally given us something tangible to cling to between gigs.
Noise & Confusion is five tracks of pure intent, gritty, cinematic, and emotionally unfiltered. From the very first listen, you can feel that this isn’t just a studio release, it’s a direct line to the band’s sweat-drenched, crowd-surfed live shows. The Rooks themselves put it best: “Noise & Confusion brings the energy of live, where we feel our music is experienced in its purest form.” And they’re not wrong. This isn’t polished for radio. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s got that pulsing heartbeat of a band that knows exactly who they are.
Standout track Where We Were Before might just be the most defiant move on the EP – a sprawling 7-minute epic that refuses to be trimmed, tamed, or tick-boxed. It’s brave, bold, and incredibly them. You get the sense The Rooks aren’t chasing trends, they’re carving out their own corner, and it sounds like late-night drives, blurry mornings, and the kind of gigs that live rent-free in your memory.
If you’re new to the chaos, here’s the quick rundown: The Rooks are Ross Gardiner (vocals), Cameron McKie and Matthew McFadyen (guitars), Kieran Luddy (bass), and Coll McKinnon (drums). They started off in school music rooms and ended up selling out Glasgow’s King Tut’s within days, all without a label or manager. The BBC caught on, chucking their single Get Up onto airwaves before their set at TRNSMT, where they shared space with the likes of Biffy Clyro and Fontaines D.C. — as the only fully independent act on the stage.
The gigs haven’t slowed down either. Just this week, they’re supporting Keyside in Edinburgh, and tomorrow, they’ll be tearing up Live At Leeds: In The City alongside Divorce and Flipturn. Come December, they headline their biggest show yet at Glasgow’s Art School (20th Dec) – and there are barely any tickets left. Grab yours here.
They’ve already rubbed shoulders with Blossoms, Dylan John Thomas, and Vistas, with even Lewis Capaldi and Kelly Jones (yes, that Kelly Jones) tuning into their potential. But despite the growing industry buzz, The Rooks are keeping things unfiltered. Whether it’s playing bowling clubs under fake names or packing out hometown venues like Barrowlands 2, it’s all rooted in that DIY ethos they started with.
If Noise & Confusion is their opening statement, it’s a loud one, a proper declaration of arrival. The kind of debut that makes you want to see them live, lose your voice in the crowd, and then tell everyone you were there before they blew up. Which, let’s be honest, is happening very soon.
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