Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

The Airing Of Grievances

[4.5/5]

The comparisons to Bright Eyes are easy; vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Patrick Stickles has the tortured howl locked down, and the rest of Titus Andronicus provide more than adequate sonic bombast to elevate Stickles’ heartrending tales of hating the suburbs to Omaha, Nebraska-like levels. But where Conor Oberst’s fractured, wavering voice teeters into emo territory, Titus Andronicus kick up the Boss influence and rock out like a punked-up version of Neutral Milk Hotel. “No Future” possesses all of the pent-up aggression of the best Arcade Fire songs, while “My Time Outside The Womb” could easily be a lost Replacements B-side. The Airing Of Grievances was written during that crucial year between high school and college, and the awkward, romanticized confusion of that time is all over the album. It might have sucked the first time you went through it, but here, it couldn’t sound better. (XL; xlrecordings.com) Sam Sutherland

Categories: