New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Liverpool post-punk pioneers The Room are back with 'Nemesis', the potent second single from their latest album 'The Telling', presenting their trademark blend of progressive, alternative pop and sultry post-punk. As with the lead track 'The Teller', the accompanying video was produced by Mark Jordan. A magical sonic adventure for fans of 80s post-punk and folk-horror aesthetics alike.
Firm favourites of the late great John Peel, The Room formed in 1979 in the golden years of northern English post-punk. In 2023, they re-formed after a lengthy hiatus, releasing their critically acclaimed 'Restless Fate' album, their first release in 38 years. Their melodic blend of progressive, alternative pop and sultry post-punk is as fresh and relevant now as when they disbanded in 1985.
Formed by singer Dave Jackson and bassist Becky Stringer, they are joined by original drummer Clive Thomas, along with guitarist Darren Brown, keyboardist Ethan Kyme, and the haunting backing vocals of Helena Jacks.
'Nemesis' is from the midpoint of 'The Telling' story. Rusalka, the shape shifter, trapped in her aquatic human form returns to wreak vengeance on the priest and those others who murdered her lover. The village is haunted by evil dreams and deaths by drowning until they sacrifice their priest to the river. The song features bassist Becky Stringer on clarinet for the first time and her son Ethan on piano.
Consisting of 11 songs, the album shares a continuous narrative through all the following songs over a blend of post-punk music, like a sort of aural folk-horror feature film. Set in a mythical 17th-century European forest, 'The Telling' follows a traveling storyteller, who mesmerizes an isolated village with macabre tales of wonder, mystery and the supernatural - of shapeshifters, wolves and ravens... of a love affair between Baba Yaga's adopted daughter and Grendel's long-lived brother, and some witch-finders who come under their hammer.
'The Telling' was inspired by frontman-songwriter Dave Jackson's interest in folklore and myths, and a visit to a cuckoo clock museum in the Black Forest, where he learned about the traveling clock sellers and storytellers, who used to move between villages. Conveyed through his spirited yet acerbic vocals, the album was conceived as an aural movie for an as-yet unfinished screenplay, unfolding as individual self-contained songs like chapters in a complete narrative, there are no lyrical choruses or repeated themes. The album comes with a full lyric sheet, influenced by the layout of the Guttenberg Bible.
Recorded and mixed at Ark Studios in Liverpool and released via 9x9 Records, this album was co-produced by Dave Jackson and Steve Powell (Michael Head & the Red Elastic Band, Autour De Lucie, Echo & The Bunnymen).
"Situated in a 17th Century European forest, a traveller arrives at a remote village offering to tell a story of "dark love and what came after" in return for a bed for the night. After some resistance from the butcher and the baker, he begins a tale about a young man from a similar village who falls for a strange woman in the forest, but discovers she can shape-shift into a raven or a wolf," says Dave Jackson.
"Rusalka the shape-shifter, assumed dead after the Priest, the jilted bride's brothers and fellow villagers burnt her lake hut and hanged her lover, returns for vengeance on her tormenters, now fixed in her aquatic human shape. This song takes place at the end of side one of the vinyl album and begins a sequence where Rusalka and her future lover begin to Hammer the Witchfinders, who plague Northern Europe at this time."
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). 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).
'Nemesis' is out digitally on February 19. 'The Telling' is out now, available on CD (jewel case with 12-page booklet) or on black vinyl (with a 4-page lyric Insert). It is also available on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and elsewhere.
All songs written by The Room
Dave Jackson - vocals
Becky Stringer - bass & clarinet
Darren Brown - guitars
Ethan Kyme - keyboards
Clive Thomas - drums Helena Jacks - backing vocals
Cover design by Ian Clark
AI album images by Dave Jackson
Produced by Dave Jackson and Steve Powell
Recorded and mixed by Steve Powell at Ark Studios Liverpool
Mastered by Chris Daniels
Videos by Mark Jordan
Band photos by Richard Duffy-Howard
TRACK LIST:
1. The Teller
2. After the Wolf
3. Lake Hut
4. The Lovers #1
5. Fire Arrows
6. Nemesis
7. Wolf Pool
8. Argol
9. The Lovers #2
10. Hammers of the Witchfinders
11. Story's End
