755. Therapy? / Disquiet. 2015. 3/5

Another Therapy? album means another chance to compare the band's current material with that from their finest album, the now twenty years old masterpiece Troublegum. Yep, I know it is an unfair comparison, as it is with any band, comparing their latest material with that from an era when they could do no wrong in your eyes. But it is almost impossible not to here. Everyone would love another Troublegum, even though they know full well they are never going to get one. Such is the state in which we enter Disquiet.

This is a further step up from their last album, A Brief Crack of Light. The sound on that album was very stripped, an almost back-to-basics sound. Here on the next album, they have progressed from that to re-incorporate a similar buzz to the aforementioned gem in their crown. It isn't a copy. Nothing could ever recreate the angst, the anger and the pissed off nature that is encoded into everything recorded on Troublegum. Add to the fact that the band is twenty years older as well, and it wouldn't be right if they were still feeling the same thoughts this far into the future. So while the depth of feeling may be missing from the vocals, there is a certain amount of similarity in the songs through the drums and guitars as they are written, while A.J's lyrics still show a sense of the distraught, even if it may not sound like it as he is singing them. There is little of the gruff anger that laces the best of Therapy?'s songs, rather here it is the higher register moaning that takes precedence, which for me doesn't quite match what you would expect.
The band has obviously had time to get this album right, as they had to change record companies in the process. There are some standout songs, such as "Still Hurts", with the faster paced drums with grunge-like guitars and bass, and "Tides" which moves in a similar way. The remainder of the album blends together nicely, but without throwing any big punches that make you take notice of what is going on.

You know what is the toughest part in this day and age about me and Therapy? Twenty years ago I was angst-ridden and angry and pissed off and depressed, and Therapy?'s music struck the right chord at the right time. Now I'm older, wiser and generally happier, and it doesn't quite speak the same way to me now as it did back then. Is that what the missing element is for me now? Not completely no. The music now is not as frantic as it was, nor as heavy in the same way as it once was. It plateau's where once it flowed over in a sea of anger and heaviness, where now it reaches a point on the scale before it recedes back into its comfort zone. I love the frantic rather than the mournful. But don't get me wrong, this is still a very good album, much closer to the best that Therapy? produce.

Rating: This feeling is different, I want an easy mind. 3/5