“Jolie” by Rook Monroe has a delectable Indie Rock flavor that is easy to sing along to. It starts with a nostalgic rock guitar intro, builds into a rhythmic verse, then cuts out into a more spacious pre-chorus only to build us up into the falsetto-driven catchy “Jolie” hook and chorus. The track includes perfectly woven harmonies, backing vocals, dynamic horns, psychedelic guitar patterns, and soft pads that make the whole thing feel like you’re listening to a classic hit that’s been around for ages. The songwriting is top-notch melodically, lyrically, and structurally. This all makes sense seeing that he has made a career in songwriting with hits under his belt such as Rihanna’s “Desperado”.
Not only is the songwriting memorable, but the production quality also stands out as doing the writing justice with its finely crafted layers and pristine mix. His close collaborator Trackside (Tinashe, BabyJake, Selena Gomez) worked with him on the production side. This song was actually Rook Monroe’s first single he put out as working on his own music, after a history of writing for others. Even though it is his own personal debut, he comes on incredible experience in the music industry. He has written songs for artists ranging from Jeremih to The Chainsmokers, so him choosing to put out his own material makes it clear that this is his passion project, and his own vision for the music he would like to craft.
He created “Jolie” in L.A., appealing more the humanity that can be experienced in music. He wanted people to feel something, rather than hone in on a struck emotion, and bask in a more natural state of pure listening and experiencing. This song is just one of many to come as part of his bigger self-written project which will all take on this theme of simply enjoying the song. In such trialing times going on in the world, we need music can keep us in the moment – and Rook Monroe has the ability to take us back to that space.
