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“Therapy & Drugs” – CULT THERAPY tease new album, share top 10 inspirations

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On January 15th, CULT THERAPY unveiled their raw and emotionally charged debut single, “Therapy & Drugs“, marking the official announcement of their first full-length album, Get Fucked, Sinner!, set for release on April 4th via Freak Baby Records.

The record dives headfirst into themes of grief, religious trauma, abuse, and queerness, with frontman Jason Duncan channeling deeply personal experiences into cathartic anthems. Produced by Marc Hudson (Cursive, Taking Back Sunday, Against Me!), the album is steeped in 90s and 00s alternative and punk influences, creating a sonic landscape that feels both nostalgic and urgent.

 

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To understand Get Fucked, Sinner! better, CULT THERAPY has shared 10 albums that shaped the sound and vision of their debut. Here’s the list, along with a glimpse of how these records influenced the band:

Cult Therapy

Toadies – Rubberneck

When we began writing songs Toadies were the first band I mentioned to the others. I wanted heavy, loud songs with lots of starts and stops and feedback. I wanted the guitars to propel the lyrics. I wanted to… honestly sound just like Toadies. You can really hear all of these elements in the lead track “Don’t Worry” which was the first full song we wrote as a band.

Weezer – Blue Album

Before Jess joined the band and the cello received much of the praise, (as it should!) people would come up to us after shows and say that we sounded like “Angry Weezer” or “Weezer meets Saddle Creek.” We are 100 percent Ok with that! It’s impossible to be a 90s teen and not have some sort of Weezer DNA. I dare any guitar player from that era to pick up their guitar and not start picking the intro to “The Sweater Song.” This is an obvious inclusion.

The Sonder Bombs – Modern Female Rockstar

If I had to pinpoint a song that inspirationally made it into every track on “Get Fucked, Sinner!” it would be “Twinkle Lights.” The moment I heard the song, was the moment I knew I needed to write with the same emotional rawness. Twinkle Lights still gives me chills everytime I hear it, and I’d be honored if any of my songs ever made someone feel the same way. Willow Hawks makes me want to write transparent vulnerable songs, “Modern Female Rockstar” is full of them, and so is GFS.

Everclear – Sparkle and Fade

This is THE album of my youth! I’ve probably listened to this record more than any other in my life (while drinking Surge and playing a Sega). I learned how to play the guitar to these songs as a kid, and it was the first time I really paid attention to song construction and how to layer songs (adding parts or instruments as the song goes on). When laying out the track order for GFS, I wanted a similar arrangement to “Sparkle and Fade” because I love the way this album flows from one song to the next. Lyrically I’m also a student of Art Alexakis when it comes to candid lyrics.

Cursive – The Ugly Organ

I’ll just go-ahead and say it, Cult Therapy is “Poor Man’s Cursive” or “Cursive Lite.” The Ugly Organ is a masterclass on song structure and how to give each instrument room to breathe. It’s also a must for any indie band out there that wants to have a cellist as a dedicated band member. Last year we did a Cursive cover set and picked four songs off this record to torture ourselves with learning. Our hearts grew five sizes that day!

The Thermals – The Body, The Blood, the Machine

“Biting back against the religious institution that raised you” isn’t a new concept, it’s literally one of the foundations of rock and roll, but for me, the permission to write an entire record about it was given by the Thermals. I can’t listen to “The Body, The Blood, the Machine” without feeling seen in the best way possible. When you leave the institution you don’t just lose your faith, you lose your family, friends, community, and it feels so lonely. This record makes me feel less alone, and in that sense, I hope GFS finds who it was meant to find helps them to feel less alone.

She/Her/Hers – Self Titled

I’d like to think of “Get Fucked, Sinner!” as the “90’s alt-rock themed religious-trauma spirit animal” to She/Her/Hers self titled album. I can’t listen to it without feeling something or asking honest questions of myself, and that is something I wanted to try and capture in my own writing. I learned I was queer as an older adult with three teenage sons which leads to frequent spirals of identity mind-fuckery and this album makes me feel ok with figuring out what all that means in my own time and space.

Braided Veins – Future / Forever

Braided Veins was a Flint supergroup that, I feel, embodies the entire spirit of the Flint music scene we grew up in. Any measurable amount of grit in our songs was inspired by this, and so many other albums/bands that came out of the Flint Local 432. Seeing Braided Veins live made me want to start a band where I just get to yell and be loud, and I’ve found great therapy in doing just that. Another direct theft from this record is the inclusion of audio samples between songs.

Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf

Known more for its guitar work, when working with John Duffy on the bg vocals I pointed to “Songs for the Deaf” for the Ooo’s and ahh’s. I thought the choir-esque vocals would be a perfect fit to the overall theme of GFS. I think they add an element to our songs that give the listener a different experience than our live shows provide, which I’m excited for.

(And of course I also bought a fuzz and octave pedal, who doesn’t?)

Radiohead – The Bends

I’ve never been in a band with another guitar player as dynamic and inventive as Jacques. I always brag to others about him being a student of 90’s alt rock and when he told me that he was heavily inspired by Johnny Greenwood’s work on “The Bends,” it made perfect sense. It’s the perfect icing on the cake for GFS which doesn’t really have any two songs that sound the same, another attribute of Radiohead I adore.

 

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Other inspirations!

  • Young Widows – Old Wounds
  • Heatmiser – Mic City Sons
  • Great Grandpa – Four of Arrows
  • Wednesday – Rot Saw God
  • Home Is Where – I Became Birds EP
  • Nada Surf – Let Go
  • Jawbox – For Your Own Special Sweetheart

Karol Kamiński

DIY rock music enthusiast and web-zine publisher from Warsaw, Poland. Supporting DIY ethics, local artists and promoting hardcore punk, rock, post rock and alternative music of all kinds via IDIOTEQ online channels.
Contact via [email protected]

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