Titus Andronicus

Storming out of the rough end of New Jersey in the mid-2000's, Titus Andronicus delivered one of the most fully-formed debut albums of all time in the form of their debut album, 2008's “The Airing Of Grievances”. Lead by the incomparable Patrick Stickles, “The Airing Of Grievances” summed up everything that one needed to know about the band. Showcasing everything from their swooping, Springsteen-esque choruses, to their white-knuckle brand of driving punk rock and the eccentricities that mark them out as different from pretty much every other blue-collar punk band in the world, including songs called “Upon Viewing Brueghel's Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus”, and the album essentially opening with a crowd of people literally shouting “F*CK YOU” at God himself.

Almost immediately after the band's release it became one of the most critically acclaimed debut albums of the year, receiving glowing notices from places as varied as Punknews, the A.V Club, The Guardian and Pitchfork. Tours with everyone from The So So Glos to Lucero, to Ted Leo and the Pharmacists followed, and then the band did it again with their second album, 2010's The Monitor. A break-up record told through an extended metaphor of the American Civil War, the record was even more critically adored than their debut, was the first record of theirs to debut on a Billboard Chart and saw the band tour with The Pogues and Bright Eyes off the back of it. To this day, the band remain one of the most respected punk bands of their generation, for their astonishing live shows and records that routinely push the boundaries of what a punk record can be. For that, they come highly recommended.