The Enemy Is Everywhere!

Wanted to take a quick moment and just give my bid for best album of 2010.

It hands down has to go to Mahwah NJ based band Titus Andronicus with their epic Indie-Punk opus 'The Monitor".

I stumbled across this album back around late March, and was pretty much punched in the ear hole. The opening track "A More Perfect Union" opens with a re-recording of Lincoln's 'Free Men' quote and then jumps like a shotgun into the song with heavy guitar and almost marching drum percussion. Ian Graetzer's vocals grind along in the songs (in a good way) and then explode into chorus' and scream, creating a beautiful hybrid of 80s underground punk similar to Fugazi with a hint of grunge.

The best thing about this album is that every song leads into the other. Making this 10 track album seem like one solid and extravagantly long song, with quotes and speeches working as transitions into songs. The range of composition is not limited at all to the punk genre. Tracks like 'Titus Andronicus Forever" with its repeating and pounding group vocals is nicely complimented by introspective ballads like the song "To Old Friends and New".

Titus also had alot of guests on to help with this album. Ponytail, Vivian Girls, and Spider Bags are just a few of the bands that lent their expertise to this amazing record.

The best way to describe this album is a major graduation from their 2008 album "The Airing of Grievances", which is no slouch. It is as if you took Bruce Springsteen's early albums and blended them with razor blades, indie rock, and piss and injected that into an angry child with a busted guitar who grew up in New Jersey in the early 90s.

There are definitely better reviews than mine out there, but for certain "The Monitor" is one of the top 10 albums of 2010. If you do not have this, you are severely missing out on something amazing.

Currently Listening To: Theme from Cheers - Titus Andronicus