Album Review: Titus Andronicus’ New LP “Local Business” Excels With More Thrills and Less Frills

By: Stephen McGill –

In the land of Titus Andronicus it seems that nothing stays the same. The New Jersey-based band has been all over the country in the past few years, touring their critically acclaimed album The Monitor. The end of this touring cycle brought two significant changes within the band. The first was the loss of touring guitarist, and one woman live pep squad, Amy Klein. The second, far more daunting loss was frontman Patrick Stickles formidable beard which was shaved off after being electrocuted during a practice session, but we’ll get back to that later.

Two years after their sophomore release Titus Andronicus returned with new record Local Business. They’ve abandoned the grandiose civil war concept that informed the last two albums, and adopted one that keeps with the title, local. Where the last album seemed enlightened by Bruce Springsteen style grand storytelling, this record adopts a briefer, more immediate style akin to The Replacements.

Musically they’ve trimmed their sound to the bare minimum, leaving bagpipes and excess of the last album behind. Stickles’ tortured whine still sits at the forefront, dueling for attention with the same big guitar riffs that have always been a feature. While the last album would get held up in the tracks that bridged the central songs, all the tracks on Local Business have a sense of movement that keeps the album from dragging.

Stand out tracks like “Ecce Homo” and “Still Life With Hot Deuce On Silver Platter,” manage to straddle that line between immediacy and strong story telling that is the best part of this band. Tracks like “Food Fight!” and “(I Am The) Electric Man” inspired by the aforementioned electrocution, don’t seem to aspire to much on the album as they consist of a single repeated verse. These tracks though are perfect for Titus Andronicus live shows, where the sweaty heaving mass will shout every word right back at them.

This is a great album then captures everything that works so well within Titus Andronicus; the immediacy of their first record, the fantastic writing of their second, and the energy of their live shows. While some of the tracks won’t standout while being played in the background when you work, you’ll want to know the words so you can shout along with everyone else when they come to town.

Essential Tracks: “Ecce Homo,” “Still Life With Hot Deuce On Silver Platter,” and “In A Big City.”