Meet The Tyrants In Therapy

Tyrants In Therapy

Emotional Coathanger Records, 2000

http://www.tyrantsintherapy.com

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/15/2001

There's a reason I don't always like to read the bios that bands and labels send me (despite the fact I ask for them). Sometimes, what I read scares me away from a particular band or a particular disc. I don't exactly remember what it was in the biography for the Los Angeles-based group Tyrants In Therapy, but it immediately made me think of "performance art". When I think of performance art, I think of someone cramming dog food up their ass while hanging weights from their nipples and reading poetry that would make Stuart Smalley jump off the roof of the Sears Tower. Kind of reminds me of a girl I used to date in college, but that's telling you a little more than I want you to know...

Sometimes, my fears are proven right... but not this time. Their disc my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 Meet The Tyrants In Therapy is a surprisingly charming little collection that merges Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, disco and David Bowie all into one package. I never expected to like this disc, and I like it... a lot.

Our main conspirators in crime, Abbe Kanter and The Tyrant Michael, musically prance around like Richard Simmons at a rave party, trying to get the energy kicked up just one more notch. It would be comical if they weren't so good at what they do - and the fact of the matter is, Tyrants In Therapy are a lot smarter than the average listener would expect.

Oh, sure, there's the lighter moments like the English language version of "Je T'aime (Moi Non Plus)" and the 16-second interlude "Doubt & Pain," but for the most part, Tyrants In Therapy are here to work, and work is what they do. Tracks like "Boy," "Om Shanti Om" (enjoyable in both its mixes presented here) and "Sex Is Back" (delivered almost in a Madonna-becomes-newscaster style by Kanter) get you up and dancing while keeping your mind involved with the music and lyrics being provided by the band. Even covers of songs like "Anna (Go To Him)" are made interesting.

Songs with titles like "In The Shadow Of Hitler" and "Yer No Jack Kennedy" might leave listeners thinking that Tyrants In Therapy are a novelty band - and while they do enjoy moments of levity (especially noted in the interludes not even listed on the CD case), they mean business. Fortunately - for the band and for us - Meet The Tyrants In Therapy almost constantly delivers.

The only moments of weakness come on a cover of "Them Kinda Monkeys Can't Swing" and one interlude talking about love of a large, aah, male appendage. (I could have seen this one as an intro or outro of "Sex Is Back," but not placed where it was on the album.)

Meet The Tyrants In Therapy proved to be a more pleasant introduction to this group than I had expected - and now I'm glad to say I know the band and their music. Chances are this disc will thrill you as well.

2001 Christopher Thelen and "The Daily Vault". All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Emotional Coathanger Records, and is used for informational purposes only.

Rating: B+

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© 2001 Christopher Thelen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Emotional Coathanger Records, and is used for informational purposes only.