Cork/Limerick no-gaze trio Therapy Horse release second single ‘LOVE / MERCY’. Haunting harmonies and dual lead vocals ride atop the squalls of distortion, with the lyrics, reckoning with themes of desperation and self-annihilation in the context of relationships, matching the doom-laden basslines and spare rhythms. Emily Dollery (vocals/bass) shares:
“The lyrics draw upon a range of non-musical influences, interweaving references to the poem “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath with Gothic imagery. I wanted to juxtapose images evoking passivity and femininity – “I move soft and slowly” “Take my blood, take my breath / Put your hand to my dress” – against more foreboding, animalistic ones – “I curl up at your feet”. Our writing approach is often very jam-based; Cormac and I tend to improvise lyrics in a stream-of-consciousness manner during sessions, and I wrote my masters thesis on Gothic literature, so the lyrics that do spill out often tend to draw from that vocabulary. I was particularly interested in Machen’s The Great God Pan, which is about a beautiful demigod born of a botched experiment who seduces and destroys men, and how her characterisation mirrors medical notes on female hysteria. In the same way, I wanted to balance the sensual with the disturbing, and have the lines expressing sacrifice – “I could never change you / All I give and I get?” contrasting the anger with which they are delivered.”
“LOVE / MERCY was the first song Emily [Dollery, bass/vocals] and I wrote together when Therapy Horse began to coalesce,” notes Cormac Donovan O’Neill (guitars/vocals). “The project has since gotten much louder and angrier, but this song means a great deal to us, and juxtaposes the full-on barrage of ‘LET ME BE CLEAR’. We all adore artists who embrace a keen sense of dynamics to go along with the all-consuming noise. Musically, ‘LOVE / MERCY’ sits in that lineage, the sparse drums and bass in the verses contrasting the escalating fury of the choruses, the sonic and lyrical narrative of the song falling away to almost nothing before roaring to its conclusion.
There’s an incredible heritage of Irish noise-rock and shoegaze bands who marry pulverising volumes with the economical use of space, like Just Mustard and Elastic Sleep. Like those bands, ‘LOVE / MERCY’s’ reverb-drenched guitar lines and lances of feedback erupt out of the song’s miasmic atmosphere.”
Of the recording process, Donovan O’Neill notes:
“Working with Andy Killian (Pebbledash, I Dreamed I Dream, Flywheel) on this song in the same marathon studio session as ‘Let Me Be Clear’, we were especially excited to capture the antiphonal vocals between Emily and I. To underscore the emotional content of the lyrics, as well as reproduce the exertion and catharsis of our live shows, we recorded vocals very last, with our voices appropriately strained. The disinhibition required for the final lines of the song I sing was really something I had to ease into in a studio context, but it was vital to do the song justice.”
Therapy Horse Live Dates
October
2 – Dolan’s w/ Mother of Pearl and Gag Reflex
4 – The Kino w/ Skinner
16 – Dolan’s w/ The Low Field
November
20 – Grand Social Ballroom w/ SLYRYDES
2026
January
14 – Grand Social Ballroom, ISSUE showcase
For more information on Therapy Horse please check their instagram and bandcamp.