Berlin trio Roomer have released their second album, Staircase Made of Rope, via Squama Recordings (Martin Brugger, Damian Dalla Torre, Enji). The record is out now, with a run of live dates to follow, including a headline show at Servant Jazz Quarters in London.
The album arrives after the band shared Good on my Own earlier this summer, and follows 2025’s Leaving It All To Chance. Where that debut captured the raw energy of a live band, Staircase Made of Rope was built largely in the studio, with songs emerging from improvisations and much of the original audio left untouched after the first take. Rather than refine away uncertainty, Roomer chose to follow it.
The band describe the record as the product of friendship as much as songwriting. “We’re three best friends spending time together, and Roomer is what fills the awkward silences,” they explain.
That spirit runs throughout the album, with songs that bear the imprint of the places they were made: a childhood home couch in summer, where the title track took shape between walks; the concrete stairwell beside Squama’s Munich headquarters, where drums were recorded; bedrooms filled with makeshift recording setups, guitars re-amped through megaphones and old dictaphones. Much of the album was engineered by Squama’s own Martin Brugger, making Staircase Made of Rope something of a family affair.
Musically, the record pushes Roomer’s dreamlike guitar sound into stranger territory. Distortion swells and recedes, melodies appear and disappear beneath dense textures, and moments of overwhelming noise give way to near-silent intimacy. Throughout, the band balances shoegaze grandeur with an almost diaristic fragility.
Lyrically, Staircase Made of Rope marks a shift from the direct emotional language of its predecessor. Rather than naming feelings outright, its songs circle around them, searching for meaning in ambiguity and contradiction. Comfort is offered, then withdrawn. Resolution remains elusive. The album’s title ultimately serves as its guiding image: a way forward without certainty, a path that demands trust rather than control.
Roomer will take the record out on the road through autumn, with festival slots at Pop Montreal, Changeover Festival, Festival MV and Simple Things, plus a UK headline date at SJQ in London on 6 November. Full remaining dates are below.
Roomer tour dates
24 September – Montreal, Canada – Pop Montreal
10 October – Belgrade, Serbia – Changeover Festival
14 October – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Cinetol
15 October – Paris, France – La Station
22 October – Berlin, Germany – Neue Zukunft
24 October – Dijon, France – Festival MV
6 November – London, UK – SJQ
7 November – Bristol, UK – Simple Things
17 November – Munich, Germany – Milla
19 November – Copenhagen, Denmark – Loppen (with Yvonnes)
20 November – Aarhus, Denmark – Phono (with Yvonnes)
26 November – Warsaw, Poland – Chmury
27 November – Krakow, Poland – Club RE
Image credits: Prissilya Junewin
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