Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
(XL Recordings)
Words: Kathryn Freund
If there is one thing New Jersey pseudo-punk band Titus Andronicus is not, it’s subtle. Teeming with even more frenzied, vehement fuck-you punk anthems than you thought you could fit into 70 minutes, Titus Andronicus follows up their debut album The Airing of Grievances with, well, more grievances, and a ready-for-war stockpile of frontman Patrick Stickles’ references and name-dropping.
The Monitor, although written off by some as a mere Civil War concept album, is definitely more than that alone. While the album’s title is inspired by the ironclad Civil War battle ship, and song titles like “A More Perfect Union” and “Four Score and Seven” are oozing with Civil War period references, the songs themselves are unequivocally relevant in 2010. The album’s American history theme is really just a metaphorical device, stringing together the inner-workings of Stickles’ mind, which inspire and invigorate anyone willing to listen.
The album opener, “A More Perfect Union,” begins with an ominous excerpt from Abraham Lincoln’s speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, 1838. Setting the tone for the rest of the album, Stickles joins in with boisterous vocals summarizing a journey out of Titus Andronicus’ native New Jersey into the American unknown. In a somewhat cynical reference to Springsteen, Stickles screams, “I never wanted to change the world / But I’m looking for a new New Jersey / Cause tramps like us / BABY WE WERE BORN TO DIE!” Switching between themes of personal experience and battle-cry chants like “Rally around the flag / His truth is marching on,” the opener goes on for 7 minutes that are anything but boring.
The tie between Stickles and Lincoln becomes clear, as the song ends with a reading of a letter from Lincoln, who confesses his misery. In keeping with the Civil War vs. modern day metaphor, with “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future,” Stickles empathizes with Lincoln. Beginning with a foreboding confession of Stickles’ own anxiety, the song’s introduction suddenly builds into a screaming anthem. The whole band joins in with a battle cry-like “you’ll always be a loser” that makes you want to fist pump with your headphones on.
With a powerful energy and undoubted charisma, Titus presents an album that isn’t bogged down by their trying too hard. Rather, Stickles’ lyrics let it all hang out, on both a personal and figurative level that is wholly relatable. Although at times one might say Stickles’ lyrics are things we’ve heard before from any angst-filled teen (such as in “Richard II” and “Four Score and Seven”), one thing is for sure – they are sincere. Even though the end of “Four Score
and Seven”’s signature Titus battle cry “It’s still us against them / And they’re winning” might be a hackneyed statement, who cares? Followed up by “Theme From ‘Cheers,’” an I’m- sick-of-this-town “let’s get fucked up, and …pretend we’re all okay” anthem, Titus showcases their ability to say what everyone’s thinking. Truthfully, sometimes you just need “an escape from reality.”
Divided between themes of self-loathing, teen angst, nostalgia, personal and cultural references, and the Civil War, The Monitor is a collection of songs that resonate much like the victories and setbacks of any war. In the album’s fourteen-minute final song, “The Battle of Hampton Roads,” Stickles finds tentative
victory in utter defeat upon returning to New Jersey after an attempted move to Boston. Stickles proclaims, “I’m destroying everything that would make me like Bruce Springsteen / So I’m going back to New Jersey / I do believe they’ve had enough of me.” Although admitting defeat and voicing our deepest grievances, Stickles is pessimistic but proud. Moving on to the next battle, the song trails off with bagpipes, a fury of guitars, and marching snares, capturing victory in song. Although not perfect, per se, in the eyes of the indie upper crust, The Monitor is full of an honest, powerful, and inspiring grittiness.
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