Therapy? Brixton O2 Academy Jagermeister Tour

Posted on 24 April 2012
By Dan Rayner
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Rock’s newest guitar hero saviours Skindred and Therapy? rocked the LDN massive and bucked the 90s grunge-mania resurgence on the penultimate night of the Jagermeister Music Tour.

Therapy? have carved their own niche in alt-rock, forging a longevity that is the envy of latter day talent show starlets. Having sold over 2 million albums in a career spanning 23 years, the band command the loyalty of legions of fans and despite slipping from mainstream charts, they have been playing solidly across Europe for the last decade.

Opening up with Teethgrinder, Andy Cairns had the confidence and swagger of a seasoned rocker and every song was greeted like a long-lost friend.

Therapy keep their fans guessing with Michael McKeegan’s gravelly bass and Neil Cooper’s choked, punchy drums.

Simultaneously nailing unconventional song structures is Therapy’s backbone, giving Cairns’ vocals space to breathe in quieter moments, then dropping heavily at the right time, changing direction just as you thought you had a handle on where they were headed next.

Exiles was about as mellow as it got. Nowhere sounded its age but that is nothing to be ashamed of, the old material is played with the same energy to make it feel relevant and the new songs, Get Your Dead Hand…, Ghost Trio and Before You, With You, After You are met with the same rapture as set closer Screamager.

This brief crack of light reveals a band who, rather than fading into a shadow of their former selves have stuck unerringly to their guns with their musical legacy and political integrity intact. Therapy? still have more to give, show me the couch.

Words and Pictures by Dan Rayner

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