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Although the band's name implies a hopelessness of Shakespearean
proportions, finding the ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark existential landscape is the theme throughout Titus' music. It's also part of
what separates the group from so many other angst-ridden punks.
Much like the mood swings Sickles described suffering from in his personal life, the emotions of the lyrics and melody swing quickly from bleak and crawling to upbeat
and hopeful.
range from 2 to 14 minutes long, and run the gamut of genres. There are fist-pump worthy anthems, distortion-riddled indie folk, and straight up
rock 'n roll singles on there. It's a concept record about the Civil War that
samples from speeches by Lincoln and other historical figures, and has
received plenty of praise from all the right people recently.
But it's the live show that makes Titus really worthy of Rolling
Stone's "Best Punk Braniacs."
stage, hunched over his guitar and deftly tapping away at one or all of
the 20-plus distortion pedals at his feet. Guitarist Amy Klein looked
completely blissed-out throughout the set, smiling and hopping
enthusiastically in time to the music--and ripping it up on
her blue electric violin.
enthusiastic vibes coming from the mostly male, Black
Flag-t-shirt-wearing crowd seemed the perfect recipe for fans to break the club's "no moshing" rule. But even the rowdiest Titus fan picked-up on the sentimental, respectful mood of the night and stuck with fist-pumping and head-bobbing instead.
Critic's Notebook
By the way: Opening band Let's Wrestle fit the "shoegaze" genre. The England-based openers warmed up the crowd with a quick, solid set that offered slightly less emotionally-laden confessions of their own (such as, this was their first time in the states).
