ALBUM REVIEW BY PABLO VAN PAZ
"Where to start this review? I guess it’s best at the start. Daily checks of bandcamp and somehow I just didn’t see this until very recently and gave it a little listen, as I always do. Probably it was the beautiful cover that didn’t scream ‘punk’ at me first? In my age and with my experience I should know to NOT judge a viniler by its cover! Either way, luckily I checked GOD IN THERAPY and their debut LP ‘Strange Thing’ (2024). And now I even found their website and that says “Together they play Stoner Punk. However, their songs can also be atmospheric, dreamy and vulnerable.” Sometimes I’m really happy when bands or labels describe the bands themselves, cos I am sure I wouldn’t find the right words or genres myself.
The 12 (incl. a MONSTER MAGNET cover) songs on here can be straight forward punky, kind of hypnotic like the opener ‘God In Therapy’ (which explains why god- and yep here that is a female- created the Earth and how it was much more fun to play hide and seek with the dinosaurs. Making me remember when I discussed this issue with me mum and at some point, despite her age, she said it could be that god is female, that’s as far as she left her longtime belief) or very calm (is that ‘stoner’ then?-I still haven’t figured out what exactly that genre is about) like ‘February’. I must admit I am cheating when I talk about them lyrix, cos sadly the LP doesn’t include them, at least not yet (as I’m about to copy them from their bandcamp and will come up with me own lyrix sheet). Their ‘Teenage Anarchists’ isn’t an AGAINST ME! cover, but ‘spray paint the walls’ certainly reminds me of me youth and when asked by me dad ‘that was you spray painting that huge THE DECAY tag on the underpass wall?’ and I gladly reported “me I would never do such an illegal thing!” 😊 (Fun fact: me dad worked for the local government and thus this ‘crime’ basically was his business, amongst many other things).
‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’ has this line ‘I’m not in charge for the way you see me’ and that’s something my male co-workers should think about the next time a female truck driver comes to charge/discharge her truck. Sometimes I just feel fucking ashamed being a male humyn.
This LP is a lot of fun to listen to, as you’re on a big musical journey and them lyrix mostly in english are serious, make you think, and even make you laugh esp. within the title track when it’s all of a sudden a little schwyzärdüütsch with ‘chrüsimüsi’ and ‘Jasmin slays the fucking Schlagzüüg’ 😊. Second LP this year (2026)? I can’t wait! Until then, this will be played several times more. Late update: my copy then perhaps is the only one including a lyrix sheet now!"