“WE'RE LIVING in a time riven by conflict. You look at what’s happening in the United States, what’s going on with Brexit, North and South Korea, Palestine and Israel. It’s impossible not to see turmoil and turbulence."
So declares Andy Cairs, leader of the long running Northern Irish punk/metal/alternative rock band Therapy? "Some of these conflicts have been going on as long as I can remember," he continues, "but they seemed to really reach a head again around the time we were writing the album. CLEAVE is our response to the divisions we see all around us.”
CLEAVE, the trio's 15th studio album, released last September, will feature prominently on the set list of their Róisín Dubh gig on Thursday March 21 at 8pm. Fans can also expect songs from the much loved LPs, Nurse (1993 ) and Troublegum (1994 ). Troublegum yielded the singles 'Turn', 'Nowhere', 'Die Laughing', 'Trigger Inside', and 'Screamager'. Chris Sheldon, who worked with the band on Troublegum, produced CLEAVE.
Assessing Therapy?'s longevity, Cairns puts it down to a mix of focus and non-conformity. “We have no particular niche and no desire to conform,” he admits, “but Therapy? have always been the kind of band that when people discover us, they immerse themselves deep and keep us close to their hearts. We’ve never been part of a trend, so we’ve never been cast aside when fashions changed. CLEAVE, to me, is Therapy? at our most focused. It was made by a band who’re all reading from the same script and moving forward with the same determination and hunger.”
Support is from The Wood Burning Savages. Tickets are available from www.roisindubh.net; the Ticket Desk at OMG@Zhivago, Shop Street; and The Róisín Dubh.
