Customer Reviews

Shameless

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm not sure how many kids have been writing on these boards, but the immaturity flows in their selfishness. This is a great album... it's not like any other album they put out. That's a good thing. People end up living in the past hoping for more and more of an artists "old" work. Get over it. You might not instantly fall in love with them from this CD, but if you're a Therapy? fan, you should love it in a short time. It has pep, it has a cuteness to it, but it's a great rock album. Lay off and Andy and the like, they have been a guitar crunching band with many styles, but rock and roll is at the heart of it. Shameless is yet another level of this and a great one.

I've never been able to call Therapy? a metal band because of their over-bearing melodic structure, so I've always referred to them as a band caught somewhere inbetween the grunge movement of the early 90s and the alt-metal movement of the mid 90s. Therapy?'s sixth studio album, "Shameless", shows no signs of them slowing down. But, it does rid of the cliche metal of "Suicide Pact" as well as the "love your neighbor" feel of "Infernal Love". I've always believed that Therapy? have had the ability to make a record as accomplished as Troublegum, but they have yet to do so. "Shameless" leaves me with the least amount of overbearing complaints since Troublegum. "Gimme Back My Brain" starts out the album with some pure rock 'n' roll intensity. "Dance" shows a hint of 80s new wave influence through Andy's vocals. "Wicked Man" may even show a little bit of a Mike Muir influence from Andy (after all, he is a fan of early 80s hardcore punk). "Theme from DeLorean" comes out of nowhere with some awesome riffs and strange vocal deliveries from Andy, as well as a bass-driven build-up that comes to a close with a nice drum fill. "Joey" also intro's with some great riffs and catchy vocals. "Endless Psychology" switches between metal riffs and melodic progressive strings effortlessly. "Shameless" ends on a very different note then the one it started on, though. "Body Bag Girl" and "Stalk and Slash" are both songs that have a more dark, gothic feel than most Therapy? fans are used to. However, "Shameless" is an accomplished record by a band that has never seemed to get the attention they've deserved over the years. These masters of melody are impossible not to like. The product of such great hooks along with great musicianship is a classic recipe.

Shameless is an improvement on "Suicide Pact - You First," Therapy?'s previous release, but it's not really a departure. The straightforward rock style of "Ten Year Plan" and "Sister" is still here, but the sound has been cleaned up. Where "Suicide Pact" was muddy, murky and gravelly, "Shameless" brings definition back to the instruments and (especially) Andy Cairns' voice. There's still plenty of guitar mayhem, though, don't worry.

The band seems to be done with the almost-progressive sound explored on "Troublegum," "Infernal Love," and "Semi-detached." And while this album can't come anywhere close to "Semi-detached," it's still a worthwhile investment. The road Therapy? seems to be taking is a lot less serious than before, but it's a helluva lot more fun.

An almost Danzig-esque sound permeates "Wicked Man," and Clutch's Tim Sult adds some guitar spice to the fierce rockabilly tune "Joey," and the driving "Endless Psychology." Pound for pound, "Joey" may be the best song on the album, although you may find yourself singing "Gimme Back My Brain" or "I am the Money" after only one or two listens. These two songs are the first singles, and for good reason -- they're catchy as hell.

In all, this is a terrific album. Therapy? is not going to match "Semi-detached" or "Troublegum," but if we can stop wishing for those then we can open our ears to this gem. After the nightmarish soundscape of "Suicide Pact," cleaning up never sounded so good.

They're back. They're mad. Just not as mad as they were last time, I'm afraid. The beginning of the album is great, though.
"Gimme Back My Brain" is the most energetic and kicking song I've heard for a long time. "Dance", "This One's For You", "I Am The Money", "Joey" and "Stalk & Slash" are also excellent songs. BUT... it's the rest of the material here that just doesn't make it. I have grown to expect this band to raise riot or at least be a bit more menacing than this. Instead, half of the material here is just boring and safe midway rock songs. AOR might still be a too bad insult, but this doesn't give me too much expectations for the band's future.

I had high expectations from the boys from Ireland when I heard this album was coming out. I was not let down. This is the most solid album they have released in years. Suicide Pact had some [poor] songs on it, and lets face it, tramline and the boy's asleep are downright awful songs that keep semi-detached from being perfect. Not since troublegum has an album this good been released. It has no [lousy] songs on it. Every song is solid, although there are a few that are just run of the mill therapy? and don't really impress me much. Andy and company have given up trying to please the mainstream, and are making whatever they want to. Considering most of their fans are diehard(aka people like me), we are no longer surprised by anything they do. Everything is a new and original work. This album impresses me for it's diversity. Overall, this is the best album from the best band nobody has ever heard in years, and will be hard to top.

since therapy? became a four-piece in 1996, their sound has been progressing towards something like this. fast and furious with no signs of slowing down, 'shameless' is 40 minutes of pure rock n roll with all its excesses of shouting, posturing, playing around and headbanging. there's a bit of the ramones, blondie (well, 'wicked man' has a blondie beat to me), typical sinister therapy? rock, and some darker things like maybe marilyn manson ('body bag girl'). i don't think therapy? care whatsoever what you think of this album: they're too confident of their own abilities at the moment. deservedly so. what great shameless fun music. begs to be seen live.

Therapy? reorganizes after a slightly disorganized album (Suicide Pact- You First) to deliver a pretty straight forward rock album. The thing is, they know how rock should be and they deliver here. With their slightly off brand of humor and ability to create some interesting melodies this album just is plain great. One of the most underrated bands in the world deliver again. When will these guys be huge? SOOOOOON!

To sum up my enjoyment of past Therapy? stuff: Troublegum was monumental (of course), Infernal Love was overdone & mostly a bore, Semi-Detached was better but still needlessly over-produced and not great, Suicide Pact was excessively murky but not without merit. And now we arrive at Shameless. And it is not encouraging.

Maybe I give Therapy? too much credit. Maybe I was wrong when I insinuated that they were a better band than people realized. Maybe they truly only had 1 great album in them. Because ever since Troublegum, it has been hit or miss. Now, it is mostly miss. Positives? Well, this Shameless material is a lot less murky than Suicide Pact (thankfully) without a lot of the production theatrics of Infernal Love & Semi-Detached. I almost detect a hint of 80's American indie-pop along with a good old dose of fun-loving rocknroll.

But not in a good way. The sarcasm drips, but the tunes are empty and dull. It's almost as if Everclear woke up on the wrong side of the bed (ouch, that was harsh.) Where are the angry slash & burn days of yore? I don't know what the motif here was, but I don't like it. I truly hear nothing that stands out (a la Misery from Infernal Love, or Jam Jar Jail from Suicide Pact.) Maybe they just really wanted to make a bad pop album, sprinkled with overwrought Marilyn Manson-esque growls and hisses.

Like I said, I truly feel that Therapy? are a tremendously capable band with the potential to write great songs. Unfortunately, they have not shown that potential consistently in almost a decade. And the misses are beginning to outnumber the hits. Be afraid, be very afraid.

I've been a Therapy? fan for quite some time now, and still consider them one of my favorite bands. "Nurse" was a raw, yet interesting mix of styles. "Troublegum" was great when I was younger, but in retrospect seems poppy and largely substance free. "Infernal Love" was a complex, ambitious album, and probably their best work. "Semidetached" seemed to blend aspects of the previous three albums into a pop/rock amalgum that also worked well. However, since "Semidetached", Therapy? seems to have struggled to put out decent work. "Suicide Pact - You First" had its moments, as well as some of the best instrumentation on any T? album. But Andy Cairns newly-adopted growly voice made "SPYF" a step backwards for the band. If "SPYF" was a step backwards, "Shameless" was another one, followed by a drop off of a steep precipice. While "Dance" was a good song, and "I am the Money" and "This One's For You" were OK, the whole rest of this album was an overly dark, growly-voiced, big dumb rock festival. Let's hope T?'s forthcoming "High Anxiety" will be more of a return to form. I'd hate to think where the next step backwards would land them.