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Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
(XL Recordings; 2010)
9/10
It seems unfair to label Titus Andronicus as a simple punk band. Although the guitars are a little too reckless and haphazard for the genre, there is something snotty enough about their delivery and their total disregard for the indie-rock sound du jour that earns them the cred.
But the New Jersey-based band refuses to let themselves become pigeonholed by the oft-limiting genre. The band’s second full-length album, The Monitor, is apparently “sort of” a concept album about the Civil War, which should appease those of us who appreciate our noise paired with a history lesson.
The pairing of brainy and brawny especially works on songs such as “A More Perfect Union” – a seven-minute long monster – that starts with a haunting spoken words that eventually culminates into anthemic solos amidst gang-vocal choruses. Highest recommendations.
Trial track: “Richard II”
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