 Recording as VV and Hotel, they contributed the song "Restaurant Blouse" to the compilation "If the Twenty-First Century Did Not Exist, It Would Be Necessary to Invent It".Shortly after this, they signed to Domino Records and recorded their debut release, the "Black Rooster EP" in Toe Rag Studios in March 2002; it was all recorded on 8-track by Liam Watson except "Dropout Boogie" which is live at Paint It Black, 4 April 2002 and "Gum", recorded on a Dictaphone by the band.The record sleeve featured photos of Mosshart and Hince taken in a photo booth rather than professional photography.