Here’s an un-trimmed for space review of the new Therapy? record that ran in Hot Press (with added ‘Still Hurts’ track review below).
THERAPY?
Disquiet (Amazing Record Co.)
Key Track: ‘Deathstimate’
ROCK LEGENDS STILL KICKING AGAINST THE CLIQUES.
8/10
Known, loved and rightly lauded for never making the same record twice, the unpigeonholeable rock pioneers Therapy? have once more set sail for pastures new on Disquiet. Leaving behind the measured menace of their previous two LPs, album number 14 is a more direct beast which often kicks as much ass as the Mighty Thor. Something of a spiritual successor to High Anxiety, Disquiet boasts 11 melodic punk and metal-imbued blasts of head-cracking riffs and filthy basslines and fans of the likes of Troublegum and Semi-Detached will find much to love on the record.
Lyrically speaking, singer/guitarist Andy Cairns is in vintage form as he muses on the passage of time (the Pantera-punning ‘Vulgar Display Of Powder’ is a particular standout on that front). ‘Still Hurts,’ ‘Idiot Cousin’ and ‘Tides’ are future live favourites, packed with pithy lines, massive choruses and satisfyingly meaty guitars, but it’s album closer ‘Deathstimate’ which really steals the show. Initially intended as a fusion of early Sabbath and Portishead, the seven minute long monster is a masterpiece and like nothing they’ve done before. Built around a magnificent riff dripping with doom influences, Cairns’ mournful vocals are perfectly weighted and utterly arresting. Not only is it the best track on the record, it’s one of their finest recorded moments and a welcome reminder that Therapy? still have plenty of surprises up their sleeves.
Today I thought I’d post up a review of the recent ‘Troublegum’/’Infernal Love’ Deluxe Editions that ran in Metal Hammer a few issues back.
Mad one, this. I vividly remember reading the reviews of both records that ran in Hammer 20 years ago (when the LPs first came out), so being asked to look after the verdict of the re-issues (both of which genuinely changed my life) well, it was a pretty cool feeling to say the least.
The piece changed a few times before it went to print due to design/photo issues, so I’m not sure which version ended up in the magazine, but here’s the final draft anyway (I rarely see my writing in print…long story).
THERAPY?
TROUBLEGUM/INFERNAL LOVE
UMC/MERCURY
While the word seminal may be bandied around much too often these days, when it comes to Troublegum and Infernal Love by NI’s Therapy?, the adjective couldn’t be any more apt. Bursting with twisted lyrics wrapped around metal-infused, punk-imbued barbs, the former remains a much-adored, evergreen classic 20 years on from its release, while the brooding, beguiling latter is a bit like the Robert Downey Jr of the rock world-misunderstood and not quite what we were expecting at first, but now an entity that continues to get more awesome with age. This month they receive the deluxe treatment and the re-mastered re-releases also feature a treasure trove of tasty treats for both collectors and new-comers alike. Stuffed with b-sides, live cuts and remixes from their respective eras, highlights from the triple disc Troublegum set include the stellar, stand-alone single Opal Mantra, ShortSharpShock EP favourite Totally Random Man and of course the indefatigable, game-changing sucker punches Screamager and Nowhere, which still soundfresh and ferocious in equal measure. Not to be outdone, the double CD version of Infernal Love is just as strong thanks to a stark re-imagining of the criminally-ignored Nurse classic Disgracelands and the cow-punk-tastic Our Love Must Die, while the three and a half minute, buzzing mind fuck that is Epilepsy, the anthemic, hook-laden Stories and the gloriously gloomy Me Vs You prove the original record is well worth a revisit. In short, any self-respecting rock fan should own both.[9]
Here’s a reprint of an interview I did with Therapy? for the Sunday Life that ran ahead of their Gifted Live show.
As Sunday Life is a newspaper, you have to write in a different style but I enjoy the change of pace and indeed discipline.It keeps things interesting. Anywho, I’ve also added the video for the boys’ new single ‘Before You, With You, After You’ that was filmed on the night.I’m sure if you hit pause at the right time you can probably see my mush in there too,so there’s a bonus treat for you…
If you happen to live in the UK, Therapy? are out on tour right now, so if you bump into them, buy them a pint of Black Milk and tell them your pal Edwin says hello.
Return of the Kings
This Thursday night sees local legends Therapy? return to these shores to play a headline show at the Empire Music Hall in Belfast. Part of the monthly Gifted Live showcase gigs, which is are broadcast live online at http://www.giftedlive.com, the evening features the cream of Ulster talent (such as Fighting with Wire and Silhouette) and the Larne/Ballyclare born band are eager to make the event a home-coming to remember, as bassist Michael McKeegan explained when Sunday Life caught up with him.
“It’s always good to be back in Northern Ireland playing and we’re all chuffed to be doing the Gifted Live show as apparently it goes out live online, so we’ll have fans watching from all over the world at the same time as the show is happening, so that’s a new one for us. Also, there’s a ton of other killer NI acts playing as well, so it should be quite a night.”
Currently enjoying life as the God-Fathers of the NI music scene, the iconic act have become one of our most popular and well-regarded exports over the last two decades. At the moment the trio, who are completed by singer/guitarist Andy Cairns and drummer Neil Cooper, are touring the length and breadth of Europe in support of their critically acclaimed 13th album ‘A Brief Crack Of Light’ and Michael reveals that it’s not just the boys’ musical chops which are winning rave reviews these days, it’s their football skills as well.
“Probably one of the highlights of the summer festival season was non-music related,” recalled Michael. “We supported Linkin Park at an old airfield just outside Moscow and as Euro 2012 was in full flow, the national TV channel asked us (jokingly, I think) if we wanted to play in their onsite five-a-side football tournament. We’d just performed an hour long set in the blazing sun, but fancied a go at it anyway, so we joined in. Even though it was a bit hectic, we managed to win the thing, beating Russia’s equivalent of the Red Arrows (no joke) in the final. You should’ve seen their faces getting beaten by us lot.”
“The rest of the festivals were all universally great this year,” he continued. “We’re lucky in that we can appear on quite ‘heavy’ festival bills and then also on more diverse ones with pop and electronic artists. Two Austrian shows with Billy Idol were particularly good and he had a super cool band and crew and we also did a show with Tricky in Luxembourg which was great as I’d never seen him live before.”
This year also saw Therapy? headline the Glasgowbury festival in Eagle’s Rock, Co. Derry and for Michael (whose band helped scores of Ulster acts break into the mainstream throughout the nineties and beyond) topping the bill at an all-local event was a particularly proud moment.
“Glasgowbury was a lot of fun,” he said. “We’d been looking forward to that show for ages and the crowd and atmosphere didn’t disappoint. It was definitely one of the best, most memorable festivals we’ve done over the years and fair play to the organisers for inviting us up. Also, special mention must go to Alan Lynn from LaFaro who was filling in for our drummer Neil, who was on ‘paternity leave’ at the time. Alan did an amazing show with LaFaro, then walked over to our stage and went straight into a 60 minute set with us, pausing only to change his shirt. I don’t think he could walk for a week afterwards.”
With their ever increasing back catalogue quite rightly establishing Therapy? as bona fide national treasures, the band’s genre-straddling, almost un-pigeonhole-able sound has won them followers from numerous sub-cultures, but even Michael confesses he was surprised when it was revealed that British soul singer Any Winehouse was a fan of the band during the recent BBC4 Arena documentary The Day She Came To Dingle.
“I always knew Amy was into a broad range of music but yeah, that was indeed a bit of a shock to hear she’d listened to us as a teenager,” he said. “Likewise, Therapy? were all fans of hers too. She was an amazingly talented artist and her passing was a massive loss for decent music.”
Therapy? headline Gifted Live at the Empire Belfast on Thursday, October 4. Tickets cost £10 from Ticketmaster and the gig will be broadcast on www.giftedlive.com
Following on from yesterday’s post mentioning Therapy?s headline slot at Gifted Live in Belfast, here’s some footage the boys shot of the gig.
If you look closely you can spot yours truly at the left hand side of your screen standing on the raised bit by the twinkly lights, having a wee drink and a head bob.
Tomorrow I’m off to straddle the Sperrin Mountains in Co. Derry to cover Glasgowbury for Hot Press/watch head-liners Therapy? tear the festival a new one. In the meantime I figured it might be a good idea to post up an unedited transcript of an interview I did with Andy and Michael from the band last month (that ran, in part, as the lead feature in this month’s Big List).
There’s lots of interesting bits and pieces in there, so enjoy.Oh, and if you spot me at the festival tomorrow…mine’s a pint!
Therapy?
First off, the current record’s been out for around five months now. How are the new songs going down live now that people have lived with the LP for a while?
Andy Cairns: “The new tunes are going down great. We were expecting ‘Living in the Shadow of the Terrible Thing’ and ‘Why Turbulence?’ to be popular riff storms, but we’ve been blown away by how great a reception ‘Get Your Dead Hand off My Shoulder’ and ‘Ghost Trio’ have been getting.”
Some of the new material caused more than a few (favorably) raised eye-brows. When you were writing the likes of ‘Marlow’ and ‘Ecclesiastes,’ were there ever concerns the songs might alienate some of the T? faithful?
Andy Cairns: “We didn’t worry about how they would be received…I think if we started doing that it would make it difficult for us to ever write music. ‘Ecclesiastes’ actually started out as a Will Oldham/Bill Callahan style tune, just an acoustic and a voice but Neil and Adam [Sinclair, engineer] suggested adding the huge, gated drum sounds which in turn suggested to me-Kraftwerk-esque vocoder. So in the end we went from lonesome balladry to lonesome robot.”
With that in mind-did you consider making a record of ten tracks of instrumental and chilled out sci-fi ballads and leave the crunchier material like ‘Why Turbulance?’ for another record?
Andy Cairns: “Funny enough, I’ve been getting back into riffs again. I’d gotten frustrated with them for ages and just wanted to do something a lot more atmospheric with the guitar and vox. Since finishing ‘A Brief Crack Of Light’ I’ve been listening to Nu-Kle-Er Blast Suntan, Unsane and some heavy bass and I can hear the call of the riff again. Of course if we did that we’d have to make a second, ambient album too…..”
Who sings during the chorus of ‘Marlow?’ Is it just Andy or are there backing singers? I’m hearing what sounds to be a female voice in there..
Andy Cairns: “It’s all me. The high pitched vocal are my voice through an Electro Harmonix F/X unit and pitched high.”
What’s your favourite track on the album and why?
Andy Cairns: “I like ‘Get You Dead Hand off my Shoulder.’ I love the lurching rhythm of it and when it all locks in it feels great to play.”
‘A Brief Crack Of Light,’ to my ears, sounds like a game changing record and there’s a nice balance between classic alt rock songs and new, exciting sounds. Did you deliberately sit down and decide to push the T? sound into new and different territories?
Andy Cairns: “Because we are always listening to lots of different kind of music we’ve developed a work method where we don’t question trying anything new. We’ll always give it a go and if it fails then we move on. I’m sometimes envious of ‘formula’ bands like the Ramones, Motorhead and AC/DC, where you just make the same record again and again. It must make it a lot easier for both band and fans. However, I don’t think we’d swap our open-mindedness for anything.”
I understand there’s some material left over-will that surface at some point?
Andy Cairns: “There is. I think there’’s four or five songs at least. ‘Dark Naughty Steps’ is Jamaican dancehall meets Fugazi, ‘All Low no High’ is very poppy (in a Buzzcocks, QOTSA way)….for various reasons they didn’t sit well with the other tracks.”
‘The Buzzing’ is a pretty complex track. Was it difficult piecing the warring melodies, dynamics and time signatures together?
Andy Cairns: “With ‘The Buzzing’ the lyrics came first and then the rhythm of the words themselves came next. The song itself is about not being able to escape your own thoughts and the ‘phantom chatterbox’ of consciousness. To emphasize this we deliberately changed the music underneath the vocals as it went along. We wanted to try and suggest the world slipping under your feet.”
Lyrically, I get the impression that the Andy Cairns of 2012 is a lot happier than the person who wrote ‘Nurse’ et al (“I have everything I need/food, shelter, family/People that love me” from ‘Why Turbulance?’ stands out in particular). Would you agree?
Andy Cairns: “I think so. Well, I get by but these days… I’m a lot more Zen in my
approach. We’re quite spoiled here in the West and don’t realise how lucky we are at times, but yet look where greed has got us. I still get angry, pissed off and at times inconsolable, but who doesn’t? Life goes on and it’s cruelly short. Make the most of it.”
On the live front-some the set staples were left out on a few dates of your recent tour of Europe (Germany etc). How did that go down and how important do you think it is to rest some tracks? (Personally I would’ve loved to have seen a full “Neil-era” set).
Michael McKeegan: “To be honest, writing a set list gets harder and harder every year. It’s a bit of a balancing act…we’re always excited to play the new songs as they’re the freshest ones for us and then obviously there’s a big back catalogue of work that people love to hear. We always try and get a good mix of the older songs which we feel compliment the newer stuff. The tour earlier in the year was quite short and we have a much more extensive tour planned for Oct/Nov/Dec, so we’ve been chatting about getting deeper into the old stuff and
dusting off a few obscurities as well as playing as much as the new album as well. Plus a slew of hits no doubt…could be a long set!”
So next month you’re head-lining Glasgowbury. I remember talking to you guys about it three years ago at Oxegen-are you pleased that the stars have aligned and you can play it?
Michael McKeegan: “Absolutely. It’s got a deserved ‘legendary’ status now and we’re delighted to finally be playing there. Fair play to Paddy for persevering with the booking, we’re all fired up for it.”
How long are you guys playing for/what can we expect?
Michael McKeegan: “Aim to maim…that’s the plan. I think our set length is probably 70 or so minutes which is good for a festival headline. I suppose the biggest bit of news is that Alan from LaFaro will be drumming with us! Neil’s had to sit out a few shows due to a longstanding family commitment so (with Neil’s help and LaFaro’s blessing) we head-hunted the best young drummer around to fill in. We’ve been rehearsing and it sounds fantastic, he definitely will be doing the songs justice.”
Are you planning to catch any of the other acts? If so-who? (Empty Lungs, Boxcutter, Swanee River and Triggerman are all worth a watch).
Michael McKeegan: “That’s one of the greatest pleasures about playing a festival where the line-up is really strong…wandering about and hopefully catching a bit of all the above plus LaFaro, Axis of and Pocket Billiards. I’m also looking forward to stumbling across someone I’ve never heard of before, that’s another cool thing about festival shows.”
How important do you think events like Glasgowbury are for Irish music?
Michael McKeegan: “The fact that all the bands are pretty much local is amazing…it shows the diversity and talent out there on our doorsteps and I hope the wider media at large will be taking an interest and covering the bands beyond the festival.”
On a related note, I was bummed out to see T? weren’t included in the BBC’s recent “The Great Northern Songbook” gig at the Ulster Hall (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18167909). Personally a track like ‘Die Laughing’ would’ve sounded perfect backed by the Ulster Orchestra. What are your feelings on the (glaring) omission?
Michael McKeegan: “I wasn’t really aware of it until lots of people began to flag it up…it possibly was a big omission on the part of whoever shortlisted the songs. With regard to being included or not, I do think from day one we’ve always been ‘outsiders’ and that suits us fine. The people that know the band absolutely appreciate and recognize the band’s legacy and influence-not just in NI but on an international scale-so we’re very happy and comfortable with the band’s standing in that respect. We were delighted to see Ash win with ‘Shining Light’ that’s a cracking song.”
In general, how do you feel about Therapy?’s legacy? I remember once seeing an interview (possibly on Noisy Mothers on ITV) with you backstage at Donington ’94 and saying how U2 made it almost impossible for other Irish bands to get noticed by a label, unless you sounded exactly like them. It almost goes without saying that T? were the main act to break that cycle-does that make you proud that you helped open up the door for lots of different music in NI and the rest of Ireland?
Michael McKeegan: “It’s pretty amazing, we’re all very proud of it…we get a lot of love from bands from all over the place, old and new, so I suppose we’ve been doing something right over the years. I’m also pleased we’ve kept on trying to progress with the music and not fall into the ‘nostalgia’ type thing which a lot of bands who’ve been around 22 years might do. With regard to the U2 comment, it goes back to that ‘outsider’ thing…when we first moved to Belfast all the bands either sounded and looked like U2 or Guns ‘N’ Roses…we didn’t fit in at all so we had to do our own thing. When we did our own single, started to put on our own shows and toured outside NI I feel that showed people that a ‘local’ band could make their mark regardless of what the industry at large felt. It’s been a brilliant old trip so far I have to say.”
Occupying the middle ground between their sublime slice of lunacy Suicide Pact-You First and the critically acclaimed dark voyage that was 09’s Crooked Timber, A Brief Crack Of Light sees NI noise rock trio Therapy? delve further down the rabbit hole to deliver a potentially game changing opus. Their 13th album to date, tracks like Plague Bell and Why Turbulence? are typically thrilling salvos of primal concrete sledge that will no doubt appeal to those looking for some new neck bothering pit anthems, but the real short sharp shocks come in the form of the early Cure-esque, blissed out instrumental Marlow and the disturbing, unhinged sounds of The Buzzing. With the latter as ugly as the former is beautiful, both songs usher in a new era of musical adventures for the band and it’s one that many fans will want to join them on. Chilling space rock ballad Ecclesiastes is another curveball that we didn’t expect and it ends the album in a surprising, but utterly spell-binding fashion. [8]
On Nov 4 Therapy? play a gig at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, so I decided to give my old mate Michael a shout for a quick Q and A for the Big List. Here’s a reprint below which includes exclusive news on their forth-coming single.
Therapy? Q and A
This month we take a brief respite from out regular interview with some of NI’s up and coming movers and shakers to bring you an interview with one of this country’s biggest exports-Therapy? Currently celebrating 22years of kicking ass and taking names, the Larne/Ballyclare natives will be co-headlining the Belfast Rocks showcase at the Ulster Hall on Nov 4 alongside the Answer, so we caught up with bassist Michael McKeegan to hear about their plans for the homecoming show and he also gives us some details on their upcoming 13th album ‘A Brief Crack Of Light’ and makes an exclusive announcement on their new single. Enjoy.
Hi Michael, welcome to the Big List. First off, Therapy? are playing a “Belfast Rocks” showcase at the Ulster Hall next month. The gig announcement definitely came as a welcome surprise last week. Why did you guys decide to play the show?
Michael McKeegan: “We were actually asked to do it a while back and for various ‘logistical’ reasons it didn’t seem likely. Obviously being a hometown show we were keen to make it happen, so everyone went the extra mile and we’re all very pleased it’s happening.”
You’re performing alongside the Answer. Did that play a big part in your decision to do the gig? Who doesn’t love Cormac and Co. after all.
Michael: “Definitely! The Answer are another great band and we’ve done a few ‘one off’ shows over the years in Europe and England together, so its brilliant to finally do a proper NI show with them. Their new album is also damn good, so we’re all looking forward to hearing it live.”
The Ulster Hall has always been a special place for the band-are you looking forward to playing a full set there?
Michael: “Too right. The last time we just did two songs as part of the ATL “Do You Remember The First Time?” show…that was ace, but it just waaay too short.”
The gig is part of “Belfast Music Week.” How important do you think events like this are for promoting new bands and also paying respect to those that have paved their way?
Michael: “I think there’s a pretty good vibe in NI with regard to bands putting out quality music and generally just being creative. So yeah, I think these kinda shows tend to put a little bit of extra focus on the local scene and for us it’s always nice to get a bit of recognition on home-turf. I think as a culture we can be quite self-effacing and hard on ourselves.”
Album number 13 ‘A Brief Crack Of Light’ is coming out in February 2012. How’s it sound?
Michael: “It’s a great sounding record. We definitely wanted to push the vibe and sonics of ‘Crooked Timber’ a bit further and I think we may well have done that! There are (hopefully) a few surprises on there for long term fans and newcomers alike.”
I understand a single is being released in November. Can you tell us anything about it and the planned video?
Michael: “Nothing definite yet with regard to the video, but the song is entitled ‘Get Your Dead Hand Off My Shoulder’ and I’m especially interested in seeing what kinda feedback we get from people.”
Will you be playing any new songs at the Ulster Hall show?
Michael: “We haven’t tweaked a setlist as of yet, but I imagine we’ll play at least two of the new songs. It keeps it nice and fresh for us.”
You’ve mentioned on your official website that 2012 will see the band play a pretty extensive tour. Can we expect more Irish dates on the cards next year?
Michael: “Most definitely. Again, there’s nothing confirmed but we should be starting to see some European/UK shows announced for 2012 soon. The plan is to try and get back to everywhere that’ll have us!”
Therapy? co-headline Belfast Rocks at the Ulster Hall, Belfast alongside the Answer. Tickets for the show cost £17.50 and are available from all Ticketmaster outlets. Therapy?’s new album ‘A Brief Crack Of Light’ is scheduled to be released in Feb 2012. For more information on the band visit www.therapyquestionmark.co.uk.
It almost goes without saying these days that Therapy? are a very special band for me, so without further ado, here’s a review of their 20th Anniversary home-coming show that ran in Fate Magazine last month. Pics by Mark Leetch (www.wakeuphate.com).
Therapy? at the Mandela Hall, Belfast
In the grand scheme of things, Therapy?’s home-coming show is a big deal. No, scratch that. It’s a huge, Godzilla-sized event all things considered. You see the band are celebrating their 20th anniversary and this evening they’re treating fans to two sets (one “Best Of” and the other is a rare run through of their seminal album ‘Troublegum’) to prove once and for all that they really are the most important band that this country has ever produced (yeah you heard Snow Patrol…).
Kicking things off with their very first single ‘Meat Abstract,’ the trio go straight for the jugular, metaphorically decapitating heads with their inventive beats and berserker riffs. The ever so subtle ‘Die Like a Motherfucker’ is dedicated to David Cameron (we can’t think why….) and frontman Andy Cairns in particular looks like he’s in the form of his life as he belts out classic cuts from the last two decades that include a suitably twisted ‘Fantasy Bag,’ and a rare version of the spiky and paranoid ‘Epilepsy,’ while also dedicating the relatively new ‘Exiles’ to everyone from Northern Ireland.
Just over a 1000 bodies are squeezed into the venue tonight and it’s heartening to see such a turnout for a band that changed the face of music in the 90s and beyond. After bowing out with the one-two punch of ‘Teethgrinder’ and ‘Crooked Timber’ (which sound as nasty as Anne Widdecombe performing a striptease on Strictly Come Dancing by the way) they return for a performance of an album that changed not only this writer’s life, but generations of others too-‘Troublegum.’ And while the crowd go insane for the likes of ‘Knives’ and their mainstream smash hit single ‘Screamager,’ it’s the less heard album tracks that are the real treats in tonight’s show. ‘Hellbelly,’ and ‘Unbeliever’ are especially awe-inspiring as Andy tells his dark tells of isolation that he quips could very well be turned into “Ballyclare: The Musical. ‘Lunacy Booth’ is another gem and sees Cormac from the Answer sing guest vocals for the high notes (which were originally performed by Lesley Rankine fact fans) but the biggest surprise of the night has to be the stabbing ‘Unrequited’ with is as potent as it was when it first came out back in ’94.
After a heroic ‘Brainsaw’ the band return for an encore which sees local singer Robyn G. Shiels and Dutch Schultz’s Willy join in for a rowdy rendition of ‘Enjoy the Struggle’ before they say their farewells with ‘Innocent X’ and ‘Potato Junkie.’ As 20th birthday parties go, tonight’s show is up there with the best of them and proved without a shadow of a doubt that Therapy? really are national treasures. Happy anniversary lads.
This week I’ve started to work on coverage for the upcoming Therapy? gig in Belfast on Oct 15 (as well as the new live album) and everything’s going to plan so far. The handy thing about freelancing for about 10 different publications is the fact that I can help give a band I believe in a bit more exposure than a staffer could on one publication and it helps spread the word a little bit further. Yesterday I finished writing up a piece (from a fan’s perpective) on Therapy?’s legacy for the Belfast Telegraph, today I’m putting the finishing touches to an interview I did with Michael McKeegan for the Big List and at some point later on, myself and the AU head honcho’s will be figuring out some T? related coverage in a future issue too. Chances are there’ll be a few other things coming out as well, but will blog about it when details are confirmed….
Anywho, let’s get back to the Big List interview. As it’s a Northern Irish publication a lot of fans won’t get to see the interview, so I thought I’d post up a small excerpt that confirms the title of the new live record. I’ll post up the full blown feature when the new issue comes out.
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What’s the status on the live album?
MM: “The live album is going to be called ‘We’re Here To The End’ and should be out end of October. It’s a 2 disc epic so I imagine there should be something on there for every Therapy? fan. We pretty much touched on every era of the band’s career.”
You’re going to perform ‘Troublegum’ in its entirity in Belfast soon. Are you planning on recreating Lesley Rankine and Eileen Rose’s vocals on ‘Lunacy Booth’ and ‘Femtex’ respectively? If so, will you be bringing in guest vocalists or will you be making Neil wear tighter trousers in order to hit the high notes?
MM: “Mate, tighter trousers? We’re currently up to the tightest men can muster! Let’s just say there may be a few special guests at the show.”
Looking back on ‘Troublegum’ now, how do you feel about that period in the band’s life?
MM: “To be honest the whole thing was so hectic we didn’t really get a chance to take it all in. The record was recorded over a period of time in various studios so we always were doing shows and buzzing about so there’s no real ‘defining’ memory for me. One very cool thing I do remember was hearing the final mix of “Stop It You’re Killing Me” on a cassette Walkman on a plane to Germany, Andy had finished up the vocals and I had yet to hear it. As the plane took off the middle 8 kicked in and I nearly shat my pants it was that good. At that point I had the inkling that the record was going to be pretty amazing.”
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So there you have it. The new album will be called ‘We’re Here To The End’ and it’ll be out soon. The full interview will be out in issue 203 of the Big List and it’s out next week.
Yep, it’s good to see the boys back in town again. Press release below-
Therapy?
Venue :Mandela Hall Times : 15 Oct 2010 8:00PM – 15 Oct 2010 10:31PM
Therapy? with LaFaro & Axis Of The distinctive sound of Therapy? was first forged 20 years ago: three young men in a dingy rehearsal room, heads down, eyes closed, lost in music, locked into a groove: a fractured dance beat, a prowling bass line, whirring, whining guitar, distorted vocals spitting alienation and desolation through an overloaded PA. And so began the history of a legendary band that has spawned over a dozen albums delivering monster guitar riffs, huge choruses, anthemic songs and high octane slabs of pure Rock, from Babyteeth (1991) to Crooked Timber (2009) and not forgetting the all-time classic Troublegum (1994).
“Old school post hardcore sounds with just drums, guitars and big chunky distorted bass and Jonny Black mangling his vocals like he’s got a mouth full of drill bits, believe me, it’s a good thing.” ‘Alternative Ulster’ magazine on LeFaro
Axis Of are an Alt/Punk band hailing from Portstewart/Belfast who have made quite an impact with their massive riffs, chaotic live shows and thoughtful lyrics. Debut single Brobdingnagian was released to a terrific reception in a sold out Auntie Annie’s.
Introduced by BBC Radio Ulster’s Rigsy.
This event will be recorded for future broadcast on Across the Line.
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