Thursday, September 27, 2018

Therapy? unleashes new album 'Cleave'





By Andy/There's Something Hard in There

As the world unravels before us, teetering on its flimsy axis of fucked-up-edness and idiocy, Therapy? emerges before thine eyes with a document of eye-gouging proportions to help us deal with these woes.

Enter "Cleave," and hopefully we'll exit upon copious listens as less-troubled music fans and citizens of this planet. Or as close as we can get to that dream, anyway.

"So this new one, really, the theme in that is fracture and division. Fracture and division in politics, fracture and division in borders and also fracture and division in psyche," guitarist/vocalist Andy Cairns told this blog last February, not long after the band put the finishing touches on its 15th studio album, which was gladly released Sept. 21 on Marshall Records.

The lyrics deal with a mind-boggling and capital WHY people "keep prying each other apart when they should be clinging to each other now that the world seems more at loss than ever," Cairns added.

Clutching onto music and friendship can surely become a crucial driving force to provide hope and healing. These 10 sharp, riveting and melodic bursts from the sturdy hands and steely throats of Cairns, bassist Michael McKeegan and drummer Neil Cooper belt us into the present, but also tug us into our past relationship with both Therapy? and our own personal life journeys.

Getting from there to here, we've made positive strides in our lives and experienced hardships, but we've always managed to keep afloat and surge toward better times ahead.

So, Therapy? take us back to when they first stomped into our ears and walk us down a familiar path paved with stones from their past, but also provide us -- and themselves -- with a fresh approach to their wicked and wonderful ways.

Stellar times, people and places from days past flash before your eyes and you're stoked to be along for this Therapy? express ride once again. Things get unhinged, they lock into place, and then splay apart again... it wakes you the fuck up and points you toward finding solutions to whatever needs fixing.

It needs to start now. Therapy? is your companion on this march.

Sunday, September 16, 2018

The Fastbacks, The Meices and more: Banding together for a friend in Seattle / Cat Rose photos

Kurt Bloch, left, and Andrew McKeag during The Fastbacks' set. (All Cat Rose photos)


Kim Warnick of The Fastbacks.

Ben London of Alcohol Funnycar.


When Seattle rocker Andrew McKeag was injured in a motorcycle accident, a host of his friends led the charge to help raise funds to cover his medical expenses at a concert on Saturday at the Clock-Out Lounge. 

The Fastbacks, The Meices, Stag, Shelby Earl, Alcohol FunnyCar, Zero Down, Service Providers, Trashfire and Toothpaste took the stage as did McKeag and others during the marathon, short-set evening.

Here's Cat Rose's photos:


THE FASTBACKS



















THE MEICES














STAG

















SHELBY EARL








McKeag makes another appearance.



ALCOHOL FUNNYCAR




















ZERO DOWN




















SERVICE PROVIDERS












TRASHFIRE















TOOTHPASTE


















JAM SESSION