Southgang
Group Therapy

It was brief but intense. How many times has a woman heard these things from a man? Almost always! And it was the same for Southgang: two albums in two years and then nothing: career over, because no one cared about them. Jesse Harte, who had a great voice, would dedicate himself to business, Fincher, McLee, and Walker would form the Marvelous 3 (of a completely different kind, a mundane modern rock!) which would last until 2001 and then nothing (except Walker who would become a successful producer). There it is. That's all. From Southgang, only two beautiful albums remain, the last of which, Group Therapy from 1992, a masterpiece in my opinion, far above Tainted Angel.

This time the tendency is towards a harder-edged hard rock with stunning blues passages (a kind of more intense Badlands with a different voice!). Also, the album is much more intimate and refined, but in some contexts, it really has some kick-ass and well-executed tracks.

It starts with "White Trash With Cash", a sort of protest song against suit-and-tie entrepreneurs and all the conformity present in this world. Apart from an intro that's not exactly enthralling, the rest of the song is truly catchy as it possesses a precise and sharp rhythm section like never before (the point with a burp almost halfway through the song still makes me laugh!). Hats off to "Water Under The Bridge", a true gem: dry and bone-crushing riffs with a simply spectacular chorus, where Harte gives his best. "Tug Of War" is another jewel: stunning arpeggiated intro that explodes into superb hard rock riffs, for a truly captivating song, especially in the finale, where Walker's excellent solo shines! More thought out and considered is the rocking "Fire In Your Body", in which primarily Harte's magnificent voice and the "Yes, let's break everything!" backing vocals that we find halfway through the song stand out. Beautiful "Final Resting Place", a subtle and very deep ballad, with a soul and a truly moving guitar solo.

A pleasant blues intro leads us into the hard rock suite of "Legend Of C.C. Road", a song very long, almost reaching 7 minutes, where the group also includes some great time changes and inflections that give space to the rhythmic fantasies of all the band members. Quickly followed by the hair metal of "Culture Clash City", a very energetic song distinguished by its very captivating rhythms. We then arrive at two rather underrated songs, namely, in my opinion, the piano bar-style song "The Call", which has a certain very seductive melancholy and "Misery" which is more rock compared to the former: both songs are linked to each other and have their own flair. Particularly the second one. It gets even better with "My Best Friend's Girl", wielding the same charisma as "Fire In Your Body" and with some excellent arpeggiated ideas from the ever-competent Walker. The album closes with the amusing "Ode To Peggy's", a playful tune reminiscent of Cinderella's "Heartbreak Station" and Texan-inspired western daydreams with cowboys waving their hats eagerly to see the usual dazzle and wet pants.... and finally, there's "The Blue Bird Has Landed" (The Uncut Trail Mix), a clear mockery of Saxon's "The Eagle Has Landed". It's an unusual instrumental nonetheless.

This superb album concludes here. Underrated by many, but in my opinion, an absolute must-have! I must warn you, however, that it's an almost impossible album to find unless some labels like Wounded Bird or Rock Candy unearth it in the coming years! Indeed, this was the epitaph of a band that faded too quickly and whose legacy remains in the grooves of their first Tainted Angel and in this hard-rock masterpiece. And as the French phrase at the end of the booklet reads "Etre heureux"! Meaning, Be Happy.