Titus Andronicus - The Monitor (2010)

This album remind me a lot of one of my favourite music albums of 2009, and that record was There Will Be Fireworks by There Will Be Fireworks, and it doesn’t have nothing to do with the concept, but with the way of making the album, as a story that's being told, where one song leads to the other in a very emotional journey, I love this kinds of albums, from Neutral Milk Hotel to The Decemberist, all of them make the act of listening to the album a must listen to every track and nothing goes to waste. There is a good thing in this, if the album is well made, you won't stop listening; but for the album to be well made all the songs must be good, not even one can go to waste, and in the case of Titus Andronicus' "The Monitor" he nailed it, maybe not up there with Neutral Milk Hotel and The Decemberist, but definitely up there with There Will Be Fireworks, that has been one of the most amazing things I've listened in this sort of artistic emotional journeys.

The concept in this album is the civil war and suburban life in New Jersey and Bruce Springsteen, it seems to me that everything in terms of the concept is not very well articulated but this is only in matter of conceptual fidelity in terms of song writing, but does this leads you to not feeling it? No, you still feel it, anger, pain, angst, the statement is not a political one, though talks about economy and stuff, but the theme is really basic personal emotions, even if they're talking about the war and all of this big picture poorly painted, is the details what hook you up to the album, a great start with "A More Perfect Union" a mix of very different instrumentation, and a lot of different moments and progressions of the song set the mood for the rest of the album and really keeps you waiting for the next and then the next and then the next, starting with the best song at first but sticking to the same thing that was great until the album ends (A little bit like the Hazards Of Love gone punk), finishing with the only song that has a beginning and an end “The Battle Of Hampton Roads”, all seems like a preparation for the battle.

Prepare to 10 very long songs but that don't bore you at all, because every song has different moments, and it goes around all the angst, the battle, the enemy, a recurrent theme coming and going between a really epic instumentation. This is an epic tale worth listening to.

Tracklist:

1. A More Perfect Union
2. Titus Andronicus Forever
3. No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future
4. Richard II
5. A Pot In Which To Piss
6. Four Score And Seven
7. Theme From "Cheers"
8. To Old Friends And New
9. ...And Ever
10. The Battle Of Hampton Roads

Rate: 8.2/10

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