Voltcase Exclusive - Therapy?

After storming back onto the scene with their latest album, 'Crooked Timber', Therapy? frontman Andy Cairns chats to Voltcase about their upcoming tour, tales of rock'n'roll excess, some advice for new msuicians and a damn site more!

Hi Andy, welcome to Voltcase – how are things?

Hi Voltcase, things are great at the moment, thanks.

We’ll be popping along to the see you in Swansea, the opening gig of your upcoming tour, what can we expect from you guys this time around? Is it a ‘Crooked timber’ heavy set?

We're looking forward to coming back to Swansea, it's been a long time. The set will be very Crooked Timber heavy as we're chuffed with the record, but we'll be playing a long enough set to throw in quite a lot of other material as well.

Now, the first time I saw Therapy? play was about 15 years ago at the Radio 1 road show in Tenby, and you were on the same bill as a load of generic pop bands. Do you miss those days at all, or are you glad that all that corporate stuffs behind you?

I miss the band getting the recognition I think it deserves and the exposure to new people. I don't, however, miss having to mix with 'pop' people, be they ahem 'artists' or the festering circus that they surround themselves with. It was always made very plain to me by these idiots that I was too ugly to play music and should be happy, in fact grateful, of a job as roadie as that's what I looked like to them.

Some reviews of ‘Crooked Timber’ have claimed that it’s a ‘return to form’ for the band, but here at Voltcase our favourite Therapy? albums, along with ‘Crooked Timber’, are probably ‘One Cure Fits All’ and ‘Never Apologise Never Explain’. Do you agree that it’s a return to form, or have people just not been paying attention to the last few albums?

I think Crooked Timber is a very focused album. We knew exactly what we wanted to do and how we wanted it to sound. The same thing can be said of Never Apologize. In rehearsals a few days ago we were dusting down some of the NANE material as we think it complements the new album very well.

One Cure Fits All is a bit more poppy than those two aforementioned albums and I think it could have used a better drum sound but don't be surprised to hear Rain Hits Concrete or Our White Noise at some point on the tour.

Following on from the previous question, for the last few albums you’ve been performing as a three piece again. Has this added a new (or re-found) element of freedom and energy to the music, or would you like to return to a four–piece at some point?

Therapy? functions best as a three piece. Sometimes we'll play an older tune and it'll seem to miss an extra guitar or vocal harmony but we try to adapt. The most important thing for us now is that we're more creative than we've been in years and with that has come a sense of togetherness and renewed energy.

Due to the increased availability of downloadable music online nowadays (whether legal or not), some bands, like Ash, for example, no longer see the need to release albums any more, and instead release a string of back-to-back singles. Do you think that the album, in the traditional sense, is still relevant to music listeners?

I think that the musical and lyrical themes on Crooked Timber have a uniformity so listening to the album as a whole is an experience. As there's no obvious 'generic hit single' on the album it stands or falls by the whole body of work. If someone only wants chunks that's fine, it says more about their attention span than the album though!

What’s the music scene like back home in Northern Ireland at the moment? We’ve been quite impressed by quite a few NI bands who have sent us music recently, are there any that you think we should be checking out?

The big one i suppose is And So I Watch You From Afar , a great band and getting loads of press. Cashier No. 9 and Robyn G Shiels are also fantastic. On the electronic side of things there's Boxcutter and Japanese Popstars.  Many, many more that i've forgotten (sorry), but it's a great scene at the moment with supportive local media to back it up. People are proud again.

If you could pass on one invaluable piece of advice to anyone out there just starting out in a band, what would it be?

“Be patient.” What's the hurry?

What’s the most rock n roll, Spinal Tap-esque experience you’ve ever had on tour?

We've done 'em all!...

• 'Kick my ass' In-store no-show? Yep, once in Bordeux.
• 'Jazz odyssey? Yep, the battle of metal festival in Germany. 20 bands, about 58 paying punters 
• 'Janine's animal outfits', nearly, when we were on A&M records a guy was trying to tell us what to wear. Urban Utility Clothing anyone?
  

And finally, the question that we ask everyone who appears in Voltcase – what does the word ‘Voltcase’ mean?

A magicians fancy.