Titus Andronicus: The Monitor, Album Review

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Vinyl giveaway details at the end of the review.

The Monitor
XL Recordings
out March 9th

83 /100
[Rating Scale]
Buy it at Insound!
Rate Titus Andronicus’ The Monitor
[STARRATER]

At exactly the five minute mark on The Monitor‘s fifth track, “A Pot In Which To Piss,” Titus Andronicus blows you away. It’s just one of the many moments on the album in which a song changes gears entirely, switching from a screechy garage rock builder to a piano-led anthem in the blink of an eye. But it’s the most significant switch because it defines the band’s transition from album one to album two. Titus has found a way to maintain their raw, punk, frenetic Jersey energy from An Airing of Grievances on every single Monitor track, but has also discovered how to convert that energy to smooth, polished, beautiful music. And when the familiar Hold Steady piano roll trickles into “Piss,” the band makes the leap from brilliant garage rockers to just brilliant musicians. It’s a leap that The Monitor, already one of 2010′s most ambitious records, triumphantly demonstrates throughout its sixty-plus minutes.

From the sweeping opening riffs of “A More Perfect Union” to the two magnificent parts of “Four Score” to the 14 minute long “Battle of Hampton Roads,” The Monitor is nothing if not big. And perhaps it is this ambition that has helped Titus Andronicus rise to the forefront of the blogosphere, that has garnered them the attention of music-lovers from all sides of the spectrum.

Take a look at Pretty Much Amazing’s favorite artists. We like accessible, catchy listens for pop-loving fans.  On paper, and even at first listen, our readers should not like Titus. I sure didn’t. Their lead singer, Patrick Stickles, really cannot sing. The guitars and drums are aggressive and in-your-face. The lyrics are depressing put-downs. But somehow the emotion that they put into their music, paired with the epic nature of their expansive instrumentation (bagpipes, horns, piano, strings and, of course, blaring guitars are all included) amount to something so big, so incredible, that one can’t help but be captivated by it.

Influences are abound; Titus has been frequently compared to Conor Oberst’s hard-rocking side project Desaparecidos, but Oberst’s voice has more than a hint of melody. Stickles is a straight-up yeller, but don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. He’ll get you hooked with his delivery of the opening song’s signature line: “Tramps like us, baby we were born to die!” An exclamation point really doesn’t do it justice.

It’s not much of a stress, actually, to label much of The Monitor as one huge exclamation point. Rally cries are embedded throughout: the passionate “enemy is everywhere” chant of “Titus Andronicus Forever,” the anthemic “you will always be a loser” taunt of “No Future Part 3,” the call to “rally around the flag” from “A More Perfect Union.”

But beneath the sing-alongs is true emotion. “To Old Friends and New” is a full-on ballad, with some gorgeous female vocals to compliment Stickles’ unorthodox crooning.  “Theme From ‘Cheers’” is delivered with soul; “What the fuck was it for anyway” is not a chorus, it’s a real question, and it’s way more heartfelt than it should be.

The Monitor is indulgent and imperfect. Shouty and predictable songs like “Richard II” remind you of those initial reasons we shouldn’t even like Titus in the first place. The extended opening and closing jams are indeed epic, but also excessive. Still, Titus Andronicus’ overall ambition pays off, as they’ve crafted a truly original and impressive sophomore album with which they will keep old friends and make new ones.

To enter to win a copy of Titus Andronicus’ The Monitor on LP (or CD, if you’d like), all you have to is leave a comment and retweet this review. Have you heard the album? If so, rate the album (above) and leave a comment with your thoughts on this review and the album in general. If you haven’t heard the album, comment about your expectations, or listen to it in its entirety at on the Lala player above. Make sure to leave a valid email address in the comment field. Entries will be accepted until March 24th.

{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }

pmablog March 23, 2010 at 5:19 am

Titus Andronicus: The Monitor, Album Review http://prettymuchamazing.com/uncategoriz… #SiS

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Adam March 22, 2010 at 11:40 pm

I haven’t heard such raw emotion put into an album in a long time. It deserves at least a 9/10 in my opinion.

AdamW
arwasowski@bsu.edu

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BearsandBullets (Matt Korman) March 22, 2010 at 11:45 pm

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RT @pmablog Titus Andronicus: The Monitor, Album Review [link to post]

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NikThakkar (Nik Thakkar) March 23, 2010 at 3:31 am

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RT @pmablog: Titus Andronicus: The Monitor, Album Review [link to post] #SiS

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pmablog (L) March 23, 2010 at 4:33 am

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Titus Andronicus: The Monitor, Album Review [link to post] #SiS

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Mike Kujak March 23, 2010 at 9:28 am

pmablog

RT Titus Andronicus: The Monitor, Album Review http://toast.tw/100oxf #SiS

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mrsoshimbo March 23, 2010 at 10:45 am

I saw Titus Andronicus last year open for someone (I think Tokyo Police Club) and they were better than the headliner. Like you said, so much energy.

I really like their first album, but hadn’t realized they had a new one coming out. I’m happy they got a good review from PMA. Can’t wait to hear it.

~Diane

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Josh Melder March 23, 2010 at 11:07 am

looking forward to hear this! (RT’d)

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Pat March 23, 2010 at 11:28 am

Good stuff, will be checking out the first album.

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Spencer March 23, 2010 at 12:15 pm

this is sparta

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TnS March 23, 2010 at 2:57 pm

Really great album. I love the long, long tracks that maintain the energy of the message and the band. I was worried when they called it a “concept album” but they delivered.

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dre March 23, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Funny name, i like, huh huh >= )

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sondret (Sondre Thorbjørnsen) March 24, 2010 at 1:21 am

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Hanan March 24, 2010 at 2:46 am

this album is proper good

damn you Luis for posting album reviews about albums I just discovered, beating me to the punch every damn time

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