When Therapy? unleashed the momentous
'Troublegum' in February 1994, they not only exceeded the expectations of those
anticipating great things for the band, they also pleasantly surprised those who had
dismissed the Larne trio as simply a post- modern Undertones or a lightened-up Big Black.
'Troublegum' was a tour-de-force, a melodic, angst-fuelled joyride through songwriter Andy
Cairns' darkest demons. As massive chart success throughout Europe bore vivid testimony
to, smalltown self-loathing had never looked or sounded so good. From the opening lines of
'Knives' - the brilliant "My girlfriend says that i need help" -through songs
like 'Die Laughing', 'Femtex', 'Unbeliever' and the opening single 'Nowhere' -
'Troublegum' saw the unwritten barriers dividing Rock and Indie come crashing down.
Not that any of this was on the horizon when Andy Cairns (vocal/guitar), Michael McKeegan
(bass/vocals) and Fyfe Ewing (drums/vocals) came together, united by common interest in
the theories of "noise, chaos and mass anxiety'.Whatever reasoning drew them in,
Therapy? had managed to ink a deal and release their debut album for the influential
Wiiija label by the Summer of 1991. The aptly-titled 'Baby Teeth' displayed early signs of
songwriting ingenuity with the frantic 'Skyward' and the beguiling 'Dancing With Manson'.
It was followed at the beginning of 1992 by the fiercely mature mini-album 'Pleasure
Death', featuring the now infamous 'Potato Junkie'.
Therapy? crowned their achievements late inn the year by making the jump to A&M to
record 'Nurse'. From the technical overload of 'Teethgrinder', to the bite of 'Nausea',
'Nurse' gave the band a top 30 album and announced their arrival in style. With success
breeding success and the band's live show rapidly becoming an 'event' in itself, three
distinctive EPs - 'Shortsharpshock' (featuring the classic 'Screamager'), 'Face The
Strange' and 'Opal Mantra' - brought the band TOTP appearances, sell-out shows and led
them seamlessly into the release of 'Troublegum'.
After a year in which the band notched up over 1/2 million album sales, a Mercury Music prize nomination and plaudits ranging from the Daily Telegraph to Castle Donnington - and all points in between - Therapy? began work in early '95 on 'INFERNAL LOVE'. The album was the sound of a band who had really come of age: the pop flavour of the two singles 'STORIES' and 'LOOSE' rubbed shoulders easily with epics like 'A moment of Clarity', 'Jude The Obscene' or Diane'. It went on to exceed the worldwide sales of its predecessor, despite its emergence right in the thick of the Brit-Pop revolution. While the UK music scene reverberated to the fey, lightweight tunes of bands who've long since either disbanded or been run out of town, Therapy? took their own route, unveiling an album of real depth and maturity.
And now, some three years later, with a new and expanded line-up, Therapy? return with the
brilliantly conceived 'SEMI-DETACHED' . Recorded over some nine months in 1997, it
reunites the band with "Troublegum" producer Chris Sheldon on twelve songs
largely penned by frontman Andy Cairns. In short, this is Therapy? at their loudest,
raucous best, melding elements of all their previous outings into one glorious new whole.
Above all, it's the sound of a band at one with itself; from the opening bars of the first
single 'Church of Noise' - three minutes of turbo-charged pyschobilly madness- through the
melodic, guitar-driven rock if 'Tightrope Walker' and 'Lonely, Crying', Only' to the doomy
grace of the album's final cut 'The Boy's Asleep', this almost amounts to a 'best of'
Therapy?.
Now featuring new drummer Graham Hopkins and former live cohort Martin McCarrick on
guitars/strings as a fully -fledged band member, the four-piece Therapy? announced their
return with a show-stealing guest slot at an NME Brats Show in January. Shorn of their
trademark facial hair, but sounding bigger and brighter than ever before, the band tore
through a mini-greatest hits set and played three new 'Semi-Detached' songs, before
bidding farewell to an awe-struck Astoria.
Forget the new pretenders of Brit-Rock, pass over winsome guitar fakers, and welcome back
the true masters. Therapy? 1998...semi-detached and built to last...