Record Review: Titus Andronicus – The Monitor

By Alex Brenner

On their second record up and coming New Jersey rockers Titus Andronicus have raised the bar with a concept album loosely based on the U.S. Civil War. While the idea may seem absurd to some, it really serves as a metaphor for singer Patrick Stickles’ anti-suburban inner turmoil with his own home state and also provides a current view of social consciousness as well. It’s pretty deep I must say.

Coupled with speeches derived from Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman and Jefferson Davis and song titles all from the reenactment, The Monitor is quite the ambitious outing for a young indie rock band. Ambition can be a problem if you can’t sell it but Titus Andronicus have ditched the tin can production of their debut and delivered an arena ready rock album worthy enough to be played along bands such as The Hold Steady. Frontman Patrick Stickles even spits out lines reminiscent of Craig Finn circa “Stuck Between Stations”; Finn coincidentally guests as the album’s Walt Whitman. They wear their influences on their sleeves a bit on this album ranging from the wordy phrasing of The Pogues, the angst of Fugazi and Bad Religion, and the wisdom of fellow Jersey statesman Mr. Bruce Springsteen.

The album kicks off with the seven minute opener “A More Perfect Union“. This sets the tone for the entire album which is nothing short of stellar. It’s about traveling on the interstate and heading off to war. They name drop Jersey’s Garden State Parkway, the Fung-Wah Bus, and paraphrase Springsteen: “tramps like us baby were born to die!” One brilliant line after another “if I come in on a donkey/let me go out on a gurney” is followed by a flute-tinged march played with Hendrix style fuzz. Screams of “the enemy is everywhere” and “it’s us against them” echo through the album.

But this is not a punk record like Green Day per say. Its punk in the sense that it’s music fighting against a system – whatever that may be. Throughout this ten song cycle it’s kind of hard to pin down exactly what the sound is. Songs like “Richard II” roll on like Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros “and there is only one dream I keep close, and that’s its one of my hand at your throat”.

I must admit I found it almost impossible to get past the first half of this record. Which is to say, I kept playing the same four songs over because they were so great, but it’s the second half that really highlights what the band can do. It starts with a tender ballad, “A Pot in Which to Piss,” which introduces the drinking aspect and self deprecating lines like “I’m at the end of my rope, and I feel like swinging” and “You’ve never been a virgin, kid, you were fucked from the start”. The drinking continues with a pirate sing along, “Theme from Cheers” with lines like “Let’s turn into dirty old men, close down the bar every night”. It’s the end of the record that really ties it all together with the pounding Jerry Lee Lewis piano and Clarence Clemons sax solo of “…And Ever” and the stomp of “The Battle of Hampton Roads” where Stickles finally says “I’m going back to New Jersey, I do believe they’ve had enough of me.”

The Monitor really took me by surprise as far as releases go. Hands down this has got to be one of the most exciting releases of 2010 and I can almost guarantee you will see it on everyone’s top ten lists. The best part about this record is that it’s not pretentious in any way; Titus Andronicus have crafted a real rock masterpiece. If Queensryche got wasted making Operation Mindcrime that’s what this record is and to me that is awesome. It also reminds me of fellow Jersey punks (what is it with that friggin’ state?) The Gaslight Anthem when they talk about rotting away in a small town. We all know that feeling (especially if you are from Pittsburgh, PA) and maybe leaving home is like going to war. Either way they have just become one of my favorite bands and maybe they will become yours too.

Rating= AAAAA

Listen: Titus Andronicus – A More Perfect Union