The Room in the Wood announce new ‘Magical Thinking’ EP
A Turntable Friend Records has announced the forthcoming ‘Magical Thinking’ EP from Liverpool-based The Room in the Wood. Comprised of Paul Cavanagh and Dave Jackson, the duo shall present their debut EP digitally on April 20, followed by an 11-track album, to be released later this spring on vinyl, CD and digitally.
This is the first time Paul Cavanagh and Dave Jackson have worked together since their post-punk band The Room split back in 1985. Reunited under the moniker The Room in the Wood, this past year has seen them write over 30 new songs. This new material has been an exciting voyage of musical exploration in a new fruitful and prolific tandem. They’ve rejected as many songs as they’ve kept for these two releases. Together with collaborator and ace drummer Colin George Lamont, they’ve developed and honed these ideas down to 14 tracks with three included on the ‘Magical Thinking’ EP. and the remaining 11 appearing on the coming LP.
This batch of songs combine Jackson’s lyrical storytelling with Cavanagh’s exquisite guitar-stylings and make for a diverse collection that blends post-punk pop, gritty blues-folk, and velvety ballads, variously influenced by Russian fairy tales, Francis Bacon, dead oceans, swimming pool bridges and unanswered prayers. This is eerie space-folk meets bluesy-glam-punk – an eclectic mix of styles, prioritising melodic storytelling and lots of strum and twang. The lead track ‘Magical Thinking’ was influenced by The Fall, the post-punk sensibility of their 80s roots, and the desert blues of Tinariwen & Songhoy Blues.
Jackson has also toured extensively in the UK, Europe and the USA with bands such as The Fall, The Violent Femmes, Aztec Camera, The Lemonheads and The Wedding Present. He currently teaches creative writing at Liverpool John Moores University, having developed his novel ‘Violet City’ as a low-budget fantasy feature film.
A Turntable Friend Records is a truly independent record label of the past (1990-1999) and the future (2017-x), currently in its second life. Based in Germany with distribution through SRD (Southern Record Distributors)and Rough Trade, their mission is to keep vinyl alive while casting light on sonic gems of yesteryear and today. 1990s peers of Sarah Records and Slumberland Records but far from copying their style, ATF Records always had their own musical identity, allowing for a roster as diverse as Secret Shine, Boyracer (with Even As We Speak), The Claim, The Ropers, the Hellfire Sermons and Lorelei. The most recent releases come from Bradford, Easy and Dose.
The Room in The Wood ‘Magical Thinking’ will be available exclusively as a digital download as of April 20. It can already be pre-ordered via the label’s Bandcamp.
TRACK LIST
CREDITS
Paul Cavanagh – guitars & bass
Dave Jackson – vocals
Colin George Lamont – Drums & percussion
Alistair Ligertwood – cello (2)
Steve Powell – engineer, co-producer
Recorded at Arc Recording Studios, 3 Birchall Street, Liverpool, L20 8PD (2017/18)
All songs written by Paul Cavanagh / Dave Jackson
Keep up with The Room in the Wood
Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Soundcloud | Bandcamp
Keep up with A Turntable Friend Records
Store | Facebook | Bandcamp |
