Born To Die

Tired of the Chillwave trend and the familiar post-Spring Break slump? Looking for something to rock your face off while you dread finals? Try this on for size: Titus Andronicus is an indie rock/punk band from New Jersey and their new release, The Monitor, is an ass-kicking concept album loosely based on themes from the American Civil War. Intrigued yet?

Sounding like a sadder, angrier, rougher Hold Steady (indeed, HS Frontman Craig Finn makes a guest appearance as Walt Whitman) this Glen Rock quintet — led by singer and songwriter Patrick Stickles — was just signed by XL Recordings. The album is named after the Union’s famous iron-clad battleship that fought at the Battle of Hampton Roads and forever changed the nature of naval warfare. After reflecting upon the carnage of battle Abraham Lincoln described himself as “the most miserable man living,” and Stickles can empathize — loudly.

Titus Andronicus has matured since its debut. This sophomore effort features keyboard, saxophone, bagpipe and fiddle. They seem to have grown beyond a simple bar band, yet their tighter songwriting and production retain a certain sloppiness. Stickles’ vocals are always a beat off, giving the impression that he’s clinging to the edge of sobriety and slipping quickly, though he doesn’t seem to mind.

The album is wildly American, evoking the iconic glory of the Civil War and struggling to keep the nation together — only to see it deteriorate years later into our current state of affairs. Singing “like a time traveler who killed his grandfather/these cycles are bringing me down,” Titus Andronicus is stuck in denial and loneliness and teenage angst that won’t seem to go away. This is the anguish of stasis in suburban New Jersey, slow ballads that lead into soaring anthems of regret. In “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future,” the band harmonizes on a roaring refrain of, “You will always be a loser, man,” and “Titus Andronicus Forever” is simply a thrashing chant of “the enemy is everywhere.”

Paranoid and dejected, these times call for chain-smoking and tragic apologies and drinking to forget. “I need a whiskey,” snarls Stickles on “Theme From ‘Cheers’” “give me a Guinness, give me a Keystone Light/give me a kegger on a Friday night/give me anything but another year in exile.” He just wants to get away but, like the rest of us, is deathly afraid of what lies beyond.

With each song averaging six minutes, the album is both ambitious and a bit heavy-handed, but don’t let that turn you off. This is good ol’ rock-and-roll, and it demands to be played as loud as possible. Our existence may be doomed and pathetic, but I’m glad we have Titus Andronicus to wail the soundtrack of our downfall.