THERAPY ?: Hard Cold Fire (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Therapy? have been around for 33 years now, having made a name for themselves with their 1994 album "Troublegum", which included the single "Nowhere", followed by the more original "Infernal Love" the following year, which unfortunately received a lukewarm reception. Despite regular releases, the band has since evolved in relative anonymity, slightly changing a tried-and-tested recipe over the years without revolutionizing it.

Unsurprisingly, "Hard Cold Fire" follows in the footsteps of Therapy? from the outset. Often described as noise rock - a genre that might be likened to punk rock, but which Therapy? distinguishes by its less typified, heavier drumming - the band's music is straight to the point, generally featuring short tracks of less than three minutes, with simple verse/chorus structures often based on saturated riffs. With the exception of the calmer 'Days Kollaps', which is closer to Nada Surf's 'Popular', all the tracks are in this format.

Obviously, with such short tracks, there's no room for long developments or embellishments. Soli, where they exist, are reduced to the bare minimum, as are the bridges. Although the vocals don't shine with their prowess, they are fortunately pleasant enough and bring a certain lightness to a rather monolithic and rough ensemble, particularly on the choruses, which tend to stay in the memory. Likewise, the drums manage to come up with some interesting little plans on a regular basis ('Two Wounded Animal' or the slightly different rhythm at the end of 'Woe'), even if they do tend to overdo things a little and add a certain heaviness to an already heavy content ('To Disappear').

While listening to "Hard Cold Fire" leaves a good overall impression, it's clearly not with this album that Therapy? will return to success. This is due to a lack of variations that made "Infernal Love" in 1995 original and endearing. Therapy? seems to have concentrated on energy to the detriment of emotion, and offers a solid album without any real hits, certainly designed for live performance, which should please die-hard fans but leave others wanting more. - Official website

THERAPY ?

HARD COLD FIRE

AUTRE LABEL

ROCK