Liverpool post-punk pioneers The Room present their third album ‘Doom Pop!’, released via 9×9 Records, as well as the video for the album focus track ‘The Room’. Inspired by the strange days in we are living through, ‘Doom Pop!’ explores the rise of authoritarianism, disinformation, war and paranoia. But it equally draws inspiration from science fiction, horror, and cinematic liminal spaces.
Recorded and mixed at Ark Studios in Liverpool, this album was co-produced by Dave Jackson and Steve Powell (Michael Head & the Red Elastic Band, Autour De Lucie, Echo & The Bunnymen).
“We aimed at shorter, sharper, more pop-oriented songs than on our previous album ‘The Telling’, which was a continuous story told in eleven songs without repetition or distinct choruses. The ‘pop’ element mainly harks back to the roots of our music, updating our original spiky, post-punk independent sound with Ethan Kyme’s keyboard stylings. Lyrically, it is a response to the current climate of emerging fascism and paranoia that increasingly colonizes all media,” says Dave Jackson.
“While the songs ‘Drones’, ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’, ‘Continent of Lies’ and ‘Doom Patrol’ concern the paranoia and destruction emanating from worldwide warmongers and oligarchs, other songs are influenced by a love of science fiction, horror and liminal spaces. ‘The Room’ is about the film ‘Stalker’ and a man who guides ‘tourists’ through a Zone corrupted by alien technology. ‘Temptation Harbour’ references three films by the late director Bela Tarr.
Earlier, the band shared the lead track ‘Drill, Baby, Drill!’ and ‘Things Have Learnt to Walk that Ought to Crawl’, an adrenaline-fueled blast of melodic post-punk driven by jangling guitars, relentless momentum, and distinctive drumming. In re-envisioning their 1982 cult classic, The Room revisits their roots, exploring themes that remain topical today, proving the enduring power of this music,
‘Doom Pop!’ is The Room’s third album with 9×9 Records, preceded by ‘Restless Fate’ (2023) and ‘The Telling'(2024). This a collection of eleven hook-driven post-punk songs confronts the anxieties of modern life, balancing political urgency with imagination and nostalgia.
“‘Things Have Learnt to Walk that Ought to Crawl’ is a the only older song re-envisioned for this album, and one of only three 1980s songs by The Room to survive in our live set. We decided to re-record and release it as it fits neatly into our new repertoire with its exhilarating jangly forward thrust, and also highlights Clive Thomas’ unique drumming,” says Dave Jackson.
‘No One Comes Here From The Town’ is a response to Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Haunting Of Hill House’, and ‘Trespassing’ attempts to sum up Dave Jackson’s unproduced science fiction screenplay ‘Trespassing’ in a 3-minute pop song, tangentially influenced by Dave Bowie’s ‘Drive In Saturday’.
In a lighter, nostalgic vein, ‘Magic Games’ tells the story of a child in his grandmother’s parlour in the early 1960s, while ‘Stories’ is about an inspirational oral storyteller who once said, “Stories told thrice become our possessions”.
Favourites of John Peel, The Room was formed by singer Dave Jackson and bassist Becky Stringer in 1979, during the golden years of northern English post-punk. Reforming in 2022 after disbanding in 1985, they are now joined by guitarist Darren Brown, keyboardist Ethan Kyme, and original drummer Clive Thomas. They have since performed at Shiiine On festival and Preston Pop Fest, and have toured or played with The Red Guitars, Blue Orchids, Trupa Trupa, and Estonia with Shelton San.
The Room recorded four John Peel sessions, appeared on The Whistle Test and worked with Television’s Tom Verlaine and John Porter (Roxy Music, TheSmiths, Billy Bragg) on their ‘In Evil Hour’ LP (1984), aside from releasing three other albums (‘Bitter Reaction’ in 1980, ‘Indoor Fireworks’ in 1982 and ‘Clear!’ in 1983. Recordings from Janice Long’s BBC Radio One programme and Saturday Live were used for the 1985 release ‘Jackpot Jack’ EP.
The Room toured the UK and the USA, and performed with The Fall, The Birthday Party, Bauhaus, Southern Death Cult, Violent Femmes, Tom Verlaine, John Foxx and The Red Guitars. Following the band’s split, Becky and Dave went on to form Benny Profane, Dust and Dead Cowboys. Dave has also recorded under his own name and as The Room in the Wood (with Paul Cavanagh).
As of September 4th, the ‘Doom Pop!’ album is out on CD and limited edition mixed eco-vinyl with both physical formats available in North America via Darla Records. It is also available digitally, including on Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.
TRACK LIST
1 . Drill, Baby, Drill
2 . Magic Games
3 . Things Have Learnt to Walk That Ought to Crawl
4 . Trespassing
5 . Temptation Harbour
6 . Doom Patrol
7 . Continent Of Lies
8 . The Room
9 . No One Comes Here from the Town
10 . Stories
11 . Drones
CREDITS
Lyrics by Dave Jackson
Music written by The Room
Dave Jackson – vocals
Becky Stringer – bass
Darren Brown – guitar
Ethan Kyme – keyboards (and Theremin on Track 1)
Clive Thomas – drums on all songs (except 8 & 10) and backing vocals on Track 3
Tom McCabe – drums on Tracks 8 & 10
Helena Jacks – backing vocals on Track 7
Recorded & Mixed by Steve Powell at Ark Recording Studios, Liverpool
Produced by Dave Jackson and Steve Powell
Mastered by Pete Maher
Cover artwork by Genevieve Baker
Video by Marco Cecere
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
LIVE SHOWS
SEPT 11 – Birkenhead Future Yard
SEPT 12 – London Aces & Eights
SEPT 26 – Liverpool 81 Renshaw Street
OCT. 9 – Edinburgh Wee Red Bar
NOV 13 – London Dublin Castle