Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances Album Review

Review of Titus Andronicus' album 'The Airing of Grievances' releases through Merok/ XL.

We're just over a month into 2009 and New Jersey has already offered us a good selection of albums, at the top of the pile is 'The Airing of Grievances' by Titus Andronicus. Taking their name from one of the lesser-known Shakespearean plays, the band combine Strokes song writing, Pogues style punk, and an air of coolness close to Walkmen, when it's all put together the sound is close to that of The Pixies or Violent Femmes. From the off, it seems Titus Andronicus keep good company.

When The Gaslight Anthem broke onto the scene last year, their PR talk was full of bright ideas and really made you want to check out the band, but the songs fell short, Titus Andronicus deliver where Gaslight couldn't. It's full of attitude, unruly, unpretentious yet confident, this is what we want from a bands debut album! At some points throughout the album, you do feel the band haven't put as much effort into some songs as others and they need to polish up parts of their act but it never looses its energy, the spikiness throughout the album is very rewarding. There's a number of highlights including: 'Viewing Brueghel's 'Landscape With The Fall of Icarus'', 'Arms Against Atrophy' and 'Titus Andronicus', all these songs are show great determination and it's the kind of material you can never have enough of.

Rating 7/10

Mike Rea