Country : United States Label : Merge Records Genres and styles : Alternative Rock / Glam Rock / Rock Year : 2022

Titus Andronicus – The Will To Live

· by Thomas Moultrie

Titus Andronicus’ The Will to Live, jumps out of your speakers from the get-go and doesn’t give you a moment of rest until it finishes taking you on its 51-minute journey. Throughout my listening, I kept turning the volume down bit by bit. As it was a quiet day at home, I didn’t need to rattle the walls and possibly upset the neighbours. But no matter how low the volume got, it still sounded loud. In those first few power rock songs, every guitar chord sounded like it was being played with a windmill. Every lyric sounded like it was being sung for a stadium full of roaring, fist-pumping, fans. I almost expected to hear a chorus of “I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day!” at some point.   

But then songs like “Dead Meat” and “Baby Crazy” were examples of classic punk rock, and brought me right into a dark dingy club, in a pit crashing the stage. Songs seamlessly moved from one to the next. A song like “An Anomaly”, with a chorus about the devil, made way for “Give Me Grief”, which had a catchy pop melody. And it all broke my brain like a sledgehammer. 

The play, from which this band takes its name, is a tragedy filled with death, murder, revenge, grief, mourning, and even cannibalism. It’s dark. And it’s a fitting name for a band making this kind of music.

My favourites songs were those that ended the record. The heavy rocking of “We’re Coming Back” and “69 Stones” which softly says goodbye. An upright piano, harmonizing vocals, drums played with a brush, and even a harmonica to close it out. That one, I felt, needed to rattle my walls a little. Yes, that was a satisfying album.

Latest 360 Content

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Sister Ray – Believer

Sister Ray – Believer

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Festival de Lanaudière | A Successful Choral Evening for Akamus

Festival de Lanaudière | A Successful Choral Evening for Akamus

Festival d’art vocal de Montréal | Training the Next Generation of Lyric Artists, From Voice to Stage Direction

Festival d’art vocal de Montréal | Training the Next Generation of Lyric Artists, From Voice to Stage Direction

Nuits d’Afrique | Soul Bang’s, The King of Improvisation

Nuits d’Afrique | Soul Bang’s, The King of Improvisation

Nuits d’Afrique | Tyrane Mondeny: The Rising Star Has Reached Her Destination

Nuits d’Afrique | Tyrane Mondeny: The Rising Star Has Reached Her Destination

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, The Sound of Subtropical Pop

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, The Sound of Subtropical Pop

Nuits d’Afrique | Glowzi, in Soundsystem Mode

Nuits d’Afrique | Glowzi, in Soundsystem Mode

Nuits d’Afrique | Mateus Vidal & Axé Experience, “Uma Festa” in The Rain

Nuits d’Afrique | Mateus Vidal & Axé Experience, “Uma Festa” in The Rain

Subscribe to our newsletter