Titus Andronicus
The Monitor
XL Recording
March 9

By Matt Kiernan

Punk-revival band Titus Andronicus return with their second full-length album, The Monitor, continuing their aggressive punk/indie rock sound that pokes fun at national pride, similar to the punk forefathers that came before them.

The album opens with the seven minute track, “A More Perfect Union,” starting with an old radio speech that is followed by Patrick Sticklestitus’s vocals that sound like Paul Westerberg of the college rock band the Replacements. The track shows love for their home state of New Jersey, referencing Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” with the lyrics, “Cause tramps like us/ baby we were born to die.”

The idea of the album is taken from the American Civil War, as seen in the picture on the album cover, and the album title coming from the USS Monitor ship that was used by the Navy during the war.

“No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future,” starts with Sticklestitus’s throaty vocals that lead into bursts of sung screams. The song ends with the cynical chant of, “You’ll always be a loser.”

Instead of making the lyrics position themselves to speak on a direct topic, they hold reason and advice that can be taken in pieces to reach listeners on a personal level, reaching greater depth than other punk bands.

“A Pot in Which to Piss,” takes a quieter tone than other tracks on the album, having Sticklestitus singing like it’s a lullaby. The slow guitar chords soon turn into quick strumming that are accompanied by piano.

The album ends with the epic 14-minute track, “The Battle of Hamptons Road,” referencing the USS Monitor’s battle with another ship. The song is complicated in that it comes in many parts that can go from little instrument use to full out jamming, and back again.

War is something that’s tough to be translated into art, and Titus Andronicus come out in one piece by making an album that transcends the ideas of war to speak of everyday feelings.