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On Our iPod

Golden Grrrls - New Pop 7”

Chris Devotion & The Expectations - Amalgamation & Capital (album)

Trailer Trash Tracys - Ester (album)

Throwing Up - Mother Knows Best 7”

Howling Wolf - Complete Chess Masters 1951-60

The Ketamines - A Rotten Bond/1 Yr (from Oddbox Singles Club Pt 2)

Cardinal - Hymns (album)

Proper Ornaments - Taking the Gamble Out of Buying 12”

Darren Hayman - January Songs (album)

Various: Marshall Teller EP 12”

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Album Review

Titus Andronicus
The Monitor XL Recordings

Article written by Peter W - Jun 6, 2010

Titus Andronicus’ second album takes its title from the USS Monitor - the first Ironclad warship of the Unites States Navy which also participated in the American Civil War. The famous battle in which it took part is also the name of the closing track. But referencing of the conflict doesn’t stop there – throughout the record’s 65 minutes, there are readings (or rather, re-enactments) of speeches from the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.

The good news is you don’t need to be a civil war scholar to understand what on earth is going on. Instead of focussing on how well-read they are about the intricacies of Confederate tactics or the exact length of General Lee’s beard, the band concentrate on the emotional trauma of war and unashamedly equate such historic suffering with personal dilemmas in their modern-day, paranoid New Jersey life; a concept that sounds both bold and ridiculous. Such ambitious albums tend to be delivered with po-faced, self-righteousness and are deservedly shot down from the smug horse they ride in on. Thankfully with The Monitor, all’s served up in a riotously anthemic, whiskey-soaked style that never loses its sense of fun.

To appreciate how well this absurd concept works within the band’s musical palette, you need look no further than the opening track “A More Perfect Union”; starting with what sounds like a wax cylinder recording of a Union call to arms, the song bursts into life with frontman Patrick Stickles’ desperate rasp and a guitar line that should moisten the pants of both basement-bar rockers and stadium flag wavers. The influence of Springsteen and his E-Street Band has always been present in TA’s music but here it dominates like never before. One of Bruce’s most famous lyrics even finds its way into the first verse, albeit attuned to a more pessimistic, punk fatalism - “cos tramps like us, baby we were born to die”.

Ludicrous? Yes. Exhilarating? Absolutely.

The songs may wrap up before the five minute mark but the aforementioned speeches, ghostly drones of feedback, or bridging interludes usually stretch out the running time nearer to eight minutes; again, something that could easily make for a tedious or pretentious listen; thankfully here it only succeeds in keeping you firmly in the band’s world of acute angst and drunken abandon, making such chant-along moments as “the enemy is everywhere” and “you’ll always be a loser” resonate further.

Fans of this five-piece’s other obvious influences (Pogues, Clash, to name two) will find plenty to enjoy from the likes of “Theme from Cheers”, “To Old Friends & New” and the fabulously titled “A Pot in Which to Piss” which all manage to mix world-weariness, lovelorn tales or fist-pumping declarations with an assortment of Gaelic-tinged strings, pub rock guitars, or regimental brass. For the truly epic closer, “The Battle of Hampton Roads”, all of these elements are amazingly thrown together and while clocking in at around 14 minutes and even culminating in a bag-pipe solo it works thrillingly and, given the chaotic nature of the album, somehow makes perfect sense.

You may feel exhausted by the end, but this is one hell of an achievement from one of the most intelligent and exciting bands around.

Links:
http://www.titusandronicus.net
http://www.myspace.com/titusandronicus