Never Apologize Never Explain

This is a must have album. It displays the darker, heavier side of Therapy? very well. Fans of the more pop punk stuff may well be disappointed but So called Life and Long Distance from this album have to be two of their greatest songs yet.

The departure of guitarist Martin McCarrick found Therapy? stripped back to a
three piece. Though one member down, they seem to have the sound, anger and determination of a band twice the size. Banging slabs of guitar and pounding drum beating are all over this album. 'Rise Up' and 'Die Like a...' kick things off nicely, all in your face with no relenting. 'Perish...' and '...Monsters' slow things down a notch but still retain that heavyweight feel. 'So Called Life' ups the tempo with a groovy little mid section to make way for the frantic 'Panic'. 'Polar Bear' challenges the listener at first with its slightly disjointed feel only to erupt into a great riff heavy ending. 'Rock You Monkeys', while upbeat and catchy, is possibly the weakest track
on offer. 'Dead' pulls things back nicely with Andy Cairns spitting venom through the speakers. 'Long Distance' eases off the gas slightly to give the listener a breather before the last three tracks hammer home to end the album just as it started. Previous album, High Anxiety, regained some fresh (and quite rightly deserved) interest in the band, but unfortunately this album failed to build upon that. This should not be overlooked for that reason and is well worth shelling out for.

Some would say that T? shot themselves in the foot with this release, failing as it did to capitalise on new interest in the band. Following the departure of a key member this finds the band back in square one as a power trio and, to be fair, this isn't wholly convincing. Boasting a stripped back and raw rock edge, this album is (as its title suggests) uncompromising. Wilfully uncommercial, this is an angry album and certainly the band's least listenable since 1999's Suicide Pact but perhaps with even less melody and certainly less humour. Highlights there certainly are, but the majority of compositions unfortunately sound like High Anxiety rejects. Highlights are lead track 'Rise Up', single 'Rock You Monkeys' , 'So-Called Life' and most of the first half of the album. The last five tracks are some of the weakest committed to a T? album. Perhaps some quality control and a little more time spent writing would have made this a more satisfying listen