On today's mix...
Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances

As the Shakespearean band name might suggest, Titus Andronicus aren't out to conquer new territory--and yet their debut, The Airing of Grievances, is one of the most refreshing rock albums of the year. Of course, firstly, they're talented musicians with a mastery of their punk influences and a flair for the dramatic, but perhaps the selling point of the album is how they masquerade in a lo-fi setting. Opener "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ" begins like any other lo-fi punk song might, beginning slow before yelling "fuck you!" and cutting loose. But the surprise is that it's actually an epic. When the noise fades for a guitar solo, for once it comes as a welcome twist, and when the guitar solo leads into an energetic horn section, you'd never have guessed they had it in them. It's a standard song structure, but Titus Andronicus play it like they just invented it. Similarly, the double epic of "No Future" and "No Future Part Two: The Day After No Future" might feel plodding presented in another format, but it feels positively vital here--you're unlikely to even notice that it goes on for nearly fifteen minutes. Titus Andronicus fill up the majority of the album with pretty straightforward numbers that wear their influences (most notably the Clash and the Replacements) on their sleeve, but the band's raw, assured delivery keep it fresh and exciting, and the steady skill that lies underneath it all makes The Airing of Grievances an album worth returning to.

8/10