New: Titus Andronicus

I feel as if our cousin Rory should be a contributor to this blog with all the spot-on musical recommendations that he has given to me over the past couple of years. Perhaps we could give him a 'special comments' position a la Dennis Commetti from the AFL commentary team.

Last week Rory sent me the link to the live-streaming of Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden and in return made me promise to check out this group called Titus Andronicus. It has taken me a few listens to really get into them but now I'm hooked. Their latest CD, released in March this year, titled 'The Monitor' could possible be described as 'angsty', 'violent-folk', and at times very humorous, but on the whole is very entertaining. They play songs that you would love to hear at a seedy pub at the end of a boozy night out with your mates, songs that you can swing your fist to and shout the lyrics, off-key and out of tune, at the top of your voice. In fact the picture above pretty much sums them up perfectly.

The two tracks that I have chosen below are the stand outs on the CD and possess an epic and captivating story-telling quality that you could compare to that of The Pogues (minus the awesome Irish accent). Listen to them a few times and you'll be hooked.

Titus Andronicus - Theme From Cheers


Titus Andronicus - To Old Friends And New


www.myspace.com/titusandronicus

R. Hunter