Reading Risers doops Shine On Debut Album

Reading alternative trio doops arrive at their debut full-length with the confidence, curiosity, and raw inventiveness of a band who have already lived several musical lives. The Space Between, out 28th November, is a record that crystallises everything the group have spent years quietly building: a swirling collision of psychedelic rock, punk bite, and indie introspection, threaded together by a fiercely DIY ethos and a newfound emotional weight.

The album’s formation reflects this duality. Drums were laid down spontaneously at Brighton’s Farm Road Studios with rising engineer Spencer Withey, capturing a sense of immediacy that pulses through tracks like ‘Idle Hands’, ‘Fever Tree’, and ‘Witching Hour’. Everything else, guitars, synths, vocals, the dense lattice of textures that defines doops’ sound, was painstakingly crafted at home. By mixing and mastering the record themselves, the band not only sharpened their technical skills but bottled the exact sonic identity they’ve spent years refining.

That identity shows its full range across the album’s ten tracks. On the heavier, high-velocity end of the spectrum, ‘Idle Hands’ and ‘Fever Tree’ capture the group’s psychedelic punk tendencies at their most electrifying, all swampy riffs, frenetic momentum, and the kind of loud/quiet pivots that feel built for sweatbox venues. ‘E.Y.N.W.’, a live favourite, channels this same energy through groove-first, bass-driven propulsion and sly, satirical lyricism.

But the band’s growing musical maturity becomes especially clear in the album’s more ethereal corners. Tracks such as ‘Forget-Me-Not’, ‘Falling’, and the beautifully subdued ‘Milk Slug’ reach into darker, softer territory without ever losing the sense of intricate instrumental interplay that makes doops so distinct. These songs stretch the emotional and dynamic space of the record, bringing a contemplative counterbalance to its more chaotic eruptions.

The thematic shift is equally compelling. While early doops material often leaned into sci-fi surrealism and conspiratorial imagery, The Space Between turns its gaze inward. Lyrically, the record mirrors a period of transition - the uneasy slide from the chaotic promise of one’s late twenties into the stark reality and responsibility of early-thirties adulthood. Even when filtered through metaphor or dreamlike abstraction, the sentiment hits unmistakably close to home.

Much of this evolution stems from the band’s refreshed lineup. Drummer Roddy Bailey’s arrival in late 2022 injected a new sense of momentum and elasticity into their writing, while floating member Cameron Smith’s contributions on synths and guitar expanded the band’s already imposing “wall of sound.” With core members Andy Bingham and Luke Connor anchoring vocals, guitars, bass, and synths, doops spent the following years stress-testing their new ideas live, sharpening each track’s edges before committing them to tape.

The result feels like both a culmination and a beginning. The raw studio takes, the nocturnal layering sessions in Andy’s shed, the final touches (including additional mixing from acclaimed engineer Shuta Shinoda on track nine), and the band’s total self-reliance all feed into a record that radiates identity. It’s an album made by a group who know exactly who they are, and who are now ready for a wider audience to catch up.

With national support across press and radio, as well as live appearances alongside Opus Kink, Do Nothing, Divorce, English Teacher, Heartworms, and other rising UK talents, doops have already built a reputation as one of the underground’s most intriguing prospects. The Space Between is the defining step that pushes them firmly into the spotlight.

Bold, bruised, and beautifully realised, it’s a debut that not only justifies the anticipation surrounding doops, it suggests they’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what they can create.