YOUR LIFE IS OVER

Some 421 odd years after Shakespeare wrote one of his bloodiest tragedies Titus Andronicus a band formed in Glenn Rock, New Jersey went on to take this tragedy to a whole new level. After recording a self released, titled and recorded EP in 2005 Titus Andronicus went on to release their debut The Airing Of Grievances last year which shaped their breakthrough. The album is filled with hate as they proclaim there is no room for hope or future, as eventually we are all going to die. However, don’t be put off by this, perhaps, pessimistic but realistic view on life. This record is filled with the most startling hooks, tears and screams you have heard for a long time and I have yet to mention the exceptionally illustrious lyrics.

Anyone who has ever had an ex lover, will indisputably be able to relate with the pain and hatred that is portrayed in opening track Fear And Loathing In Mahwah, NJ, “You took a heart with so much room for love and filled it with hatred and rage.. until there was nothing left but for it to shrivel up and die.” The song parts with the illustration and reality of loathe “Now the way we hold each other so tight, would look more like a noose if held up to the light because we betray each other in dreams every night.” Arguably the most instant hit on the album is the self titled Titus Andronicus, with the repetitive chorus it is bound to dispatch a rush of adrenaline through your blood if the rest of the record hasn’t already send you straight to the intensive care department of a Riverside hospital. We might be beautiful but, as Los Campesinos! have mentioned before me, eventually we are doomed. “There'll be no more cigarettes / No more having sex / No more drinking until you fall on the floor / No more indie rock / Just a ticking clock / You have no time for that anymore / You better watch where you run your mouth / Because you know what they'll say to you, they'll say …..YOUR LIFE IS OVER”

I feel the urge to quote and dissect all the songs on the album as it is filled with the most sharp and honest lyrics that screech through the terror of garage rock sound, isn’t that what we all want? I know for a fact that Titus Andronicus share my opinion in Arms Against Atrophy “… please don't whisper sweet nothings in my ear when the sound of shredding vocal chords is what I want to hear”. I will stop spoiling the rest of the as I know from first hand, the best way to explore this album is on your own.

TITUS ANDRONICUS – THE AIRING OF GRIEVANCES

1. "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ" – 5:56
2. "My Time Outside the Womb" – 2:55
3. "Joset of Nazareth's Blues" – 2:30
4. "Arms Against Atrophy" – 5:16
5. "Upon Viewing Brueghel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" – 4:25
6. "Titus Andronicus" – 3:13
7. "No Future" – 7:39
8. "No Future Part Two: The Days After No Future" – 6:54
9. "Albert Camus" – 6:25


TRY AND BUY