Titus Andronicus – Local Business
XL: 2012
Patrick Stickles has always struck me a deeply rooted, hometown hero kind of guy. And despite the fact that Titus Andronicus might be the biggest (or at least the best) American punk band, one gets the sense they’d be just as happy thrashing away in a VFW hall or your old man’s garage.
Which is not to say the group doesn’t have lofty aspirations or grand ideas. Look no further than 2010’s The Monitor. But given that album’s Civil War setting and its magnum opus status, the album was still ultimately about a breakup and rife with overtones of home.
So for their third album, Titus Andronicus have reigned in their scope and returned to raging against whatever is directly in front of them. Whereas The Monitor stemmed from brother versus brother, boy versus girl, in this case it’s more minor, more insular atrocities: Stickles’ eating disorder, cynicism, isolationism and depression – and alternatively espousing the benefits of going (and staying) local.
In lesser hands, it could be a recipe for disaster. But thankfully for punk fans, and particularly fans of Titus Andronicus, Stickles is talented enough to pull it all together. He hasn’t lost his ear for memorable melodies, with road-trip ready tunes and choruses begging for beer-soaked sing-a-longs; nor his penchant for sly lyrics that deserve close examination and repeated listens.
So, while this isn’t necessarily pièce de résistance. (And surprising given the timing, even an overtly political record.) But the band proves that there is still plenty to rage against right here. It’s still Titus Andronicus. The enemy is still everywhere.
3.5 out of 5