THERAPY?

Ahhh, you can’t beat a bit of nostalgia every now and then. I didn’t realise that Therapy? were still around to be honest, so the arrival of this was a welcome slice of reminiscence and re-discovery. At the peak of their fame around the mid ‘90s, Therapy? were regularly featured on BBC national radio, they graced the covers of N.M.E and Kerrang, and were high-up-the-bill at the Monsters of Rock and Reading festivals in the UK and right across the world, with their anthemic sing-a-long alt-metal/rock tracks being guaranteed floor-fillers in indie (back when ‘indie’ was decent) and rock clubs. Times were good for Therapy? and alternative rock/metal fans lapped it up. But as is often the case, musical fashions change, band members leave, record companies reassess artist priorities or simply fold, and otherwise successful and well-regarded bands slowly fade out of the mainstream spotlight, but still write and release quality material and maintain a devoted hardcore fanbase, as is seemingly the case here. But enough of the reminiscence. ‘We’re Here To The End’ sees a defiant Therapy? mark their 20th anniversary with a collection of live tracks plucked from three consecutive live performances at Water Rats in London’s Kings Cross earlier this year; a first for the band, having never previously recorded an official live album, despite being frequently requested by the fans. Spanning their entire 13 album career from early favourites ‘Pleasure Death’ and ‘Troublegum’ to their most recent release, ‘Crooked Timber’, this double disc release compellingly captures the experienced, raw, vital sonic essence of the Therapy? live show, with the crowd chants and telling, but well-recorded small-stage sound effectively transporting the listener to the intimate, sweaty, pogo-pit of the Water Rats. The inclusion of classics such as ‘Screamager’, ‘Trigger Inside’ and ‘Teethgrinder’, in addition to a plethora of impressive fresher and newer material, results in an album of broad appeal from those re-discovering the band, to the die-hard fan. An audibly vivid portrayal of a band that clearly still have the onstage power and passion that they had back in the early ‘90s and, as Andy Cairns declares over the mic at the end of ‘Opal Mantra’, “fan-fuckin’-tastic”.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Blast Records

Double Album

WE'RE HERE TO THE END

Review by Hannah Sylvester

RUNNING TIME:

67:43 & 68:23

RELEASE DATE:

8th Nov 2010

TRACK LISTING

CD1: 1) Screamager; 2) Sister; 3) Turn; 4) Enjoy the Struggle; 5) Die Like a Mother Fucker; 6) Stories; 7) Meat Abstract; 8) Exiles; 9) Skyward; 10) Moment of Clarity; 11) Sprung; 12) Neck Freak; 13) Diane; 14) Potato Junkie; 15) Dancing with Manson; 16) If It Kills Me; 17) Rust
CD2: 1) Nausea; 2) Knives; 3) Nowhere; 4) Evil Elvis; 5) Epilepsy; 6) Rain Hits Concrete; 7) Our White Noise; 8) Opal Mantra; 9) Fantasy Bag; 10) Church of Noise; 11) The Head That Tried To Strangle Itself; 12) Polar Bear; 13) Crooked Timber; 14) Punishment Kiss; 15) Trigger Inside; 16) Innocent X + 3 more...

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

UK

"An audibly vivid portrayal of a band that clearly still have the onstage power and passion that they had back in the early ‘90s..."