Therapy? – ‘Disquiet’ [Review]
I love this album. It’s dark, it’s dirty, it’s fucked up – and beyond that, its sheer depth and authenticity was enough to win me over from the opening bars of first track Still Hurts. There’s no trace of fakery or posturing here. None at all. Fucking hell.
Therapy?’s latest LP is stuffed full of delirious riffs, tortured vocals, direct and deep-cutting lyrics, anthemic songwriting, head-bobbing grooves, hard-bitten bass, and enough punky anger and angst to fuel a thousand of Therapy?’s contemporaries. Although I’ve found this band a hard one to get into in the past, Disquiet provoked no such resistance. To some established Therapy? fans, the increased accessibility of Disquiet may be tantamount to selling out or whatever – but there’s no doubting that these guys still mean what they say and what they play.
Giving more people the chance to get into a band is great, provided the essence of the act doesn’t get watered down – and Therapy? are walking that tightrope with a masterful effortlessness here. Alt-rock fans will spot plenty of highlight moments as they flash by in lightning bolts of “…show the kids how it’s done…” hyperactivity; for me it’s all about Still Hurts‘ core hook and…well…actually, fucking everything about that track is perfect. Then you have Idiot Cousin‘s relentless rush toward the finish line; Helpless Still Lost‘s hurricane guitars and earth-quaking drums; the bludgeoning metallic structures that make up Vulgar Display of Powder; the punky-yet-fresh drive behind Words Fail Me; and grunge-on-crack closer Deathstimate. If I had to choose one winner, Deathstimate would be the one – but it’s best experienced as part of this album’s full running time rather than as a cherry-picked-and-repeated single song. It’s all about the anticipation.
Overall, Disquiet is the sound of a band known for turning themselves inside out in the name of their art doing so in a fresh, accessible, but still uncomfortably challenging manner. If you don’t break a sweat while Disquiet is running through your speakers, you’re probably deaf.
TMMP RATING: 91%
Links
Disquiet is out tomorrow via Amazing Record Co.
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