In today's musical climate, any band that has endured for 30 years without a split, hiatus or implosion of any kind is a cause for celebration. Northern Irish rock trio Therapy? wanted to mark their milestone anniversary in some way, but a standard Greatest Hits compilation just wasn't cutting it. Instead, the Andy Cairns-fronted trio decided to pack up 12 of their Top 40 UK hits, take them to Abbey Road and re-record them with producer Chris Sheldon, who oversaw most of their biggest successes, including 1994's Troublegum.
Indeed, most of these songs are culled from that landmark album, and while the likes of Screamager and Trigger Inside may not encapsulate the same "angry young man" nihilism of yesteryear, they still bristle with energy. Teethgrinder's grungy riffs still thrill and Neil Cooper is more than capable of matching original drummer Fyfe Ewing's skill behind the kit.
Other tracks, such as Opal Mantra and Stories, are somewhat forgettable, but Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield’s turn on the enjoyable Die Laughing works well. Their best-known song, Nowhere, still kicks the hardest, though – ably demonstrating that Therapy? can rock as hard as they ever did, three decades in.