Giant Rooks are a German indie rock band that was formed in 2014. They released their very first album, Rookery, in 2020, and on February 1, 2024, they released their sophomore album, How Have You Been? The group is a five-person band consisting of members Fred Rabe, Finn Schwieters, Luca Göttner, Jonathan Wischniowski, and Finn Thomas. I was first introduced to the band in the summer of 2023, when they opened for Louis Tomlinson on his Faith in the Future tour. They have an incredibly engaging and enthusiastic stage presence that drew me in immediately. Going into that concert not knowing any of their music and leaving excited to go home and listen to their entire discography was a feeling I will never forget. Since July 25, 2023, I have been able to call myself a fan of Giant Rooks and their music, and I was restlessly anticipating the release of their latest album. This album, from start to finish, has no skips, and all together, it is a beautiful piece of art. However, five songs on this album are my true favorites, and I hope that after reading, they will be some of your favorites too!
Flashlights
Starting strong with one of my favorite songs on How Have You Been? Is Flashlights. This song was written by all of the members of the band! This is one of my favorite things about the band in general as they play a serious role in the creative process of their music! This song begins with vocals from lead singer Fred Rabe. The whole band then comes in after the lyric “patrolling every corner of my mind” The entrance is powerful and sets the tone for the rest of the song. The overall feelings that this song provokes in you are what I think personally makes the song so enjoyable. I have listened to this song multiple times with headphones on full blast because it is just such a well-written and produced song that I will forever love! My favorite lyric from this song is:
“Search for answers on the Internet
Happiness slips through my hand
I might, yeah, I might
Go and find some peace of mind, but
Nothing’s ever gonna change
God won’t help me win this game
don’t care ’bout what they say
I don’t care ’bout it today”
Under Your Wings
Up next on my list of top five songs on Giant Rooks’s new album How Have You Been? is Under Your Wings. This song has an upbeat vibe throughout! It was the first song on the album when I listened to it for the first time from start to finish that I repeatedly went back to and listened to over and over again! This song makes me want to jump around and dance in circles and I love when I get this feeling listening to a new album. This song again was written by the band themselves! My favorite lyric from this second song is:
“I don’t wanna face this, buildin’ an oasis
To make it go quiet
Thinkin’ ’bout it lately
Don’t give me the maybеs (Maybes)
Can anybody save me from thе dreams that chase me?”
Nobody likes hospitals
My third pick for my top five favorite songs is without a doubt an emotional one. This song was the first I listened to on the album that brought some tears to my eyes. It is a song that immediately was added to my sad song playlist, and I knew I would add it right from the beginning of the song with the slow guitar playing and these magical percussion instruments being played. I think this song also really highlights the vocal range of the lead singer, Fred, as he usually has very deep vocals, but you hear him enter a higher range through the entirety of this song, and it showcases his musical abilities! You also hear the band singing in unison a lot in this piece, and overall, it demonstrates the true talent that this band holds when they perform together. My favorite lyric from this track is:
“I don’t want to live; I don’t want to die. Blood on my hands
All this time, you’ve been on my mind, but you don’t understand.
Nobody should feel the way you feel right now.
Soon, you will be home; it will pass like a bad weather front.”
Love is a selfish thing
My fourth favorite song is a fun one! This song gives the band a new sound that I don’t feel like a lot of their other music shows. The lyrics to this song are incredibly depressing when you analyze them, but the band uses upbeat instrumentation to kind of trick your brain into thinking that this song is happier than it is, and I think this is a big reason why I enjoy it. You can choose how you want to listen to the song. If you are in the mood for a sad song, you can pay attention to the lyrics and really digest them and recognize that this song is more powerful than you realized, or you can take it at face value and just bop your head along to a great tune that seems to be exciting. This song was also again written by all five members of the band and produced by them! My favorite lyric from this fourth song is:
“I set my house on fire because I don’t really like what’s inside.
Pickin’ up the pieces that I once used to call my mind (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You said you wouldn’t let me forget you.
“Moments fade away,” you always used to say.
If I could, I would turn back the time to the good old days.
Repeatin’ every mistake”
Somebody like you
The fifth and final song on my list of top five favorite songs off of Giant Rooks’s sophomore album, How Have You Been?, is Somebody Like You. This song holds a very special place in my heart, as it was a song that Giant Rooks played on stage when I saw them live for the first time. At the time of the concert, the song was unreleased. During the show, they announced that they were going to be releasing the song soon but wanted to have us sing along with them as they played. The band walked us through the chorus of the song before they began to perform it and taught us the lyrics, “I let my guard down for a moment; wherever you go, I’ll be going too; I’ve been; waiting, waiting, for somebody like you.” This song is extremely special because while I was learning it, I was standing next to two of my best friends in the whole world, and we all hugged one another as we shouted these amazing lyrics to each other. This is a core memory I will have forever, and I thank Giant Rooks and their music for being able to create a moment like this for my friends and I. This was also the first song that I waited for the release date to hear again, and it started my love for this wonderful band! This song was truly the song of the summer for me in 2023! My favorite lyric from this song is:
“Oh, eternal silence
Nobody here to steal our time.
Sunburnt skin and
There are no mountains we need to climb.
If you go there, I will go there.
Never look back, ’cause we still have time.
All of my life, I’ve been waiting.
I’ve been waiting for somebody like you.”
Go listen to How have you been? right now!
Now that you know my top five favorite songs from Giant Rooks’s latest album, How Have You Been? You must go and check it out for yourself. You will not regret it. This album is made up of 14 incredibly well-written and produced songs that deserve a listen. You can stream this album on all streaming platforms and follow the band on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to stay up to date with all of this musical content as well as the international tour they will be going on this year! I hope you enjoy listening to the album in full and can create your own list of top five songs that you like the most after giving the album a listen!
