Albums of the month- March

The album of the year race started in earnest in March. Broken Bells(the Shins' James Mercer and DangerMouse collaboration), Frightened Rabbit (follow up to the amazing 2008 release Midnight Organ Fight), and Gorillaz all released great albums. And that's just March 9th. Neon Trees and She & Him both put out notable albums later in the month as well.

Even amongst this competition, March's album of the month award goes to Titus Adronicus for their big, loud epic "The Monitor." (click on band name to go to their website.)

The Short of it: Titus Andronicus sounds like a Flogging Molly/ Okkervil River hybrid with Craig Finn, Conor Oberst, and Will Sheff sharing vocal duties singing 8 minute drunken outtakes from the Stage Names.

For people who: A)Like The Hold Steady or Okkervil River or Bright Eyes. B)Wish more bands would mold two or three songs into one long song like Gn'R did with Sweet Child o' Mine and November Rain. C)Are not distracted by profanity.

Where to start: A More Perfect Union, Titus Andronicus Forever, No Future Part 3. (you'll know whether it's for you pretty quick.)

The Long of it:

Titus Adronicus is a band from New Jersey. They drop a Born to Run reference in the opening verse of The Montier's first track. These two facts combine to make the Bruce Springsteen comparisons seem easy. Throw in the Springsteen name drop that closes the album and you start thinking they want you to make the connection. But it's not very a very helpful one. Bar rock energy + occasional use of piano does not necessarily equal The Boss. Sure, there are little bits of Springsteen influence here and there- the harmonica in the first half of Four Score and Seven sounds like it came from Live '75-'85. Theme From Cheers has a bit of a Springsteen feel as well, with its 'drinking with my buddies and longing for a better life' sentiment. There's even a short sarcastic sax solo in ...And Ever. But as a whole, it's not exactly Springsteen-esque.

What I think has lead to this mistaken connection is the fact that Titus Andronicus does actually sound a lot like The Hold Steady on some songs- the opener in particular. So it seems like a logical inference. But what the Hold Steady and Titus have in common is not the same as what the Hold Steady and Bruce Springsteen have in common. The Hold Steady sounds like the the E street band. The singer, Craig Finn, sounds nothing like Bruce Springsteen. Titus Andronicus lead singer, Patrick Stickles, delivers the lyrics to these songs with a not quite singing/ not quite talking yelp that gives great emphasis to lyrics that could otherwise be drowned out by overpowering music. In short, he sounds a lot like Craig Finn. But Finn is the least Springsteen-y sounding bit of The Hold Steady. (lyrics aside.)

Additionally, Titus is lyrically much darker than Springsteen. These characters are not "finding some reason to believe." But, if you don't mind phrases like "the enemy is everywhere," and "you will always be a loser," bouncing around your head, the music is pretty fun.

The energy of that music is really what carries The Monitor. The guitar plays HUGE hooky solos all through the album. The music takes the heavy sentiment of these lyrics and gives it levity. It almost sound like they are enjoying their misery. And maybe you should too. Titus Andronicus Forver is an incredible, Ramones quality, punk singalong. I challenge you not to start singing "it's still us against them" at the end of Four Score and Seven. And the guitar that carries A More Perfect Union almost requires air guitar accompaniment.

At some point, perhaps when you catch yourself playing an air solo on a broom stick while you sweep your basement, you realize this is just what rock music is about. Transforming your basement, or your back yard, or the civil war from an endless slow march to a fists in the air, wind in the face sprint for a few minutes. Rock and roll began as rebellion. Rock and roll is not patient, or subtle, or even-tempered. It's a base, instinctive reaction to an incredibly nuanced world. It's not a good way to vote or raise your kids. It is not a good way to live your life. But it is a hell of a way to spend 45 minutes.

And, at least for March, it's going to be hard to beat Titus Andronicus as a soundtrack to that 45.