Picture this – you’re the member of a lauded rock band who have enjoyed not inconsiderable mainstream success while staying true to your musical roots and enjoying critical acclaim. Then your record label folds and you find yourself back on a small indie label, watching bands taking your sound to the top of the charts around the globe. So people – glass half-full, glass half empty?

For Andrew Cairns, the glass is most definitely not just half-full but overflowing. And not without reason. His band Therapy? have, in the shape of the album Shameless (their second for Ark21), released one of the best twisted punk metal rock records of the year, as well as being a glorious nod to Therapy?’s halcyon days. Andy certainly agrees.

“A lot of the best records were the ones we made quickly and on our instinct,” he says. “The only times that Therapy? maybe lost our way was when we bowed to record company pressure and tried to do things in a slightly mainstream manner. It never worked, we’re not that kind of band. The new record label gave us a sense of creative freedom.”