Titus Andronicus – The Monitor (2010) [XL] // Grade: B-

Titus Andronicus have already established their preference for elevated literary themes delivered by way of energetic garage punk stylings and attitude. Their sophomore release, The Monitor, is no disappointment for fans who latched onto this model with their 2008 debut, The Airing of Grievances. The Monitor is an hour plus concept album loosely themed around the Civil War and specifically referential to the USS Monitor and the ship’s 1862 battle with the CSS Virginia.

Sounding like a group of rowdy drunken sailors led by frontman Patrick Stickles, Titus Andronicus do a really great job of channeling The Pogues on The Monitor. I’ve always found similarity between Stickles’ and Shane MacGowan’s voice and The Monitor‘s “Richard II” is a great example of the parallels, filled with lyrical intensity. If Stickles sounds like MacGowan then he equally sounds like a much more intense Conor Oberst, a likeness best heard on the piano and string backed “A Pot In Which To Piss”.

Just like The Airing of Grievances, The Monitor‘s heavy-handed themes bring down the album’s lasting impression. The 14-minute closer “The Battle Of Hampton Roads” is 14-minutes too long, a totally unnecessary track that ends the album on a tired note, a shame considering the preceding “…And Ever” with it’s rousing the enemy is everywhere chorus is one of the album’s best moments.

I appreciate Titus Andronicus’ desire to tell a story and intellectualize their music, but their themes are almost too well-thought out and in the case of The Monitor end up constraining the individual songs. Luckily Titus Andronicus’ strong suits of energetic, impassioned vocal delivery and impressively big sounding backing aren’t completely buried and shine every chance they get.

- Scrooge McFuck