Live Review: Therapy? with Bokassa at The Electric Ballroom, Camden, London (14/12/23)

It has been a good year for Therapy? Having regained their footing after the pandemic and releasing the really strong album, Hard Cold Fire, their first since 2018’s Cleave. A year where they have felt relevant and important again, although there haven’t been many years since their inception in 1989 that they haven’t felt relevant and important.

Don’t let their age fool you though, Therapy? have a wide and varied fanbase, evident by the busy Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.

To get the crowd warmed up though, first it’s Norway’s Bokassa and they almost steal the entire show. Not just because their blend of stoner and hardcore punk (proclaimed as stonerpunk) is so damn listenable, but because they are delightfully fun to watch. Hell, if the music thing doesn’t work out, guitarist and vocalist Jørn Kaarstad could probably make a career out of being a stand-up comedian.

He’s our prime minister now, don’t you know? It’s not like he could be any worse than what we’ve had recently and he has been to his fair share of Greggs.

The trio are having an absolute blast on stage, and in between bouts of hilarity, they hit the Ballroom with a bevy of thumping, groovy, energetic, and anthemic hits. From Last Night (Was a Real Massacre) to Mouthbreathers Inc, to Molotov Rocktail, Immortal Space Pirate (The Stoner Anthem), and Charmed & Extremely Treacherous, it’s a killer show that threatens to blow Therapy? off the stage and it’s no surprise that there is a big queue at the merch stand afterwards.

Bokassa… they’re okay, I guess?

Do you know who else is okay? Therapy?! Ok, that segue doesn’t quite work because Therapy? are more than okay. They are great and on excellent form tonight. Absolutely smashing out a set that features more than twenty songs and covers a wide array of their extensive musical history. Not easy task when you consider they have sixteen studio albums and there are no signs of slowing down, especially when they have a new album to promote.

Speaking of which… Hard Cold Fire is the focus of the set with nine of its ten tracks aired. The likes of Bewildered Herd, Poundland of Hope and Glory, Ugly, Woe, and, of course, fan-favourite Joy. Each sound fantastic live and you can tell Therapy? are loving playing them live too.

Although it’s fair to say that the trio are loving playing everything tonight as each track aired is met with a cacophony of noise from a grateful audience. It’s really is incredible that a band 34 years into their career still elects this kind of response. Which also goes for the seminal album Troublegum, which is reaching its 30th anniversary next year, and Andy Cairns (vocals/guitar) assures us that this important landmark date will be celebrated next year.

That’s next year though, and right now the likes of Die Laughing, Nowhere, Screamager, Turn, and Unbeliever are sounding as strong as they did 29 years ago.

It’s an immense showing from Therapy? and not because they’re a nostalgia act. Their future is bright, and there’s a sense that we’ll be dancing and grooving to their wonderful rock sound for another decade or two still.