Titus Andronicus (band)

Tramps like us, BABY WE WERE BORN TO DIE!

Titus Andronicus is a punk/indie band from Glen Rock, New Jersey comprised of Patrick Stickles, Amy Klein, Eric Harm, and David Robbins. They have released two albums, 2008's The Airing of Grievances and 2010's The Monitor, a Concept Album based on the dual lives of a young man in New Jersey and a Union soldier in the Civil War.

Imagine Bruce Springsteen crossed with Neutral Milk Hotel crossed with The Clash and you're about halfway there.

They are named for the quite bloody and violent Shakespeare play of the same name.

Titus Andronicus provides examples of:

• Dark Reprise: "Titus Andronicus Forever" at the beginning of The Monitor and "...And Ever" at the end.
• Epic Rocking: Basically all of The Monitor, but special credit should go to "The Battle of Hampton Roads," a nearly 15 minute song named for the first naval battle between ironclad ships. With a bagpipe solo.
• Genius Bonus: With song titles like "Upon Viewing Brueghel's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" and a concept album about the Civil War with a recommended reading list, this is a given. Patrick Stickles is a very smart, very well-read guy and it comes through in his lyrics.
• Ode to Intoxication: Both the sarcastic and non-sarcastic variety.
• Perishing Alt Rock Voice: If Conor Oberst had become a punk rocker, he would be Patrick Stickles.
• Shout-Out: To absolutely everything including William Shakespeare, Albert Camus, the Civil War, Billy Bragg, Bruce Springsteen, Seinfeld, Hunter S. Thompson, and The Dark Knight, to name just a few.
• Spoken Word in Music: The Monitor contains readings of speeches and writings by Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman, among others, performed by fellow indie rock artists such as Craig Finn of The Hold Steady and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak.