You've got to give Titus Andronicus points simply for the ambition that's behind their new record, The Will to Live. This one, out on Friday via Merge Records finds the group making their own Bat Out of Hell. While suffused with punk attitude, there is also a lot of stadium rock in these grooves. The whole thing is a bit mad, really, but it works more often than it does not.
Lead single "(I'm) Screwed", a real contender for single of the year around these parts, is Springsteen-y but with more punch. It's a vibe echoed by the Eighties cock rock of "I Can Not Be Satisfied". Titus Andronicus pull this off, largely through their enthusiasm for the material, though the longer numbers here on The Will to Live aren't as palatable. "Bridge and Tunnel" and "An Anomaly" seem leftovers from a rock opera, but they're cryptic ones. For a band fond of loud, declarative, direct rockers, these pieces of the record feel a bit too hazy for enjoyment. Still, "We're Coming Back", a Sham 69-inspired bit of business, and "Baby Crazy", a Slade-y stomper, charm immensely.
The volume and fire the players, namely frontman Patrick Stickles, put into this is admirable. And with Chris Wilson (Hammered Hulls, Ted Leo) on the skins, there's a deliberate force behind most of the better tracks on this record. The Will to Live isn't as searingly impassioned as the band's earlier works, but it's impressive. The breadth of the attack here is overwhelming at times, and the group never once seems to be taking the piss out of the forms that they've clearly been drawing inspiration from of late. Instead, Titus Andronicus pour their souls into this in the way old hardcore bands would, even if the result is more Def Leppard than Dag Nasty.
The Will to Live is out on Friday via Merge Records.
[Photo: Howard Bilerman]