The Monitor

Released

I heard this album for the first time when I was 18 and I really can’t think of a better age to discover it. The Monitor is Jersey punks Titus Andronicus’ second album, but every note is wrung out and hollered like it could be their last. Framing a breakup through the lens of getting really, really into the history of The American Civil War is a preposterous endeavor, but frontman Patrick Stickles weaves tales of melancholic self-loathing and paranoia with the same precision as the editors of a Ken Burns documentary. The songs are big, angry, tearful, with sections for any young person to exhume their heartache to — screaming along with “you will always/be a loser/you will always/be a loser” with the windows down going 70 on 17, ears ringing long after the acceptance is joyfully bellowed — “and that’s OK”.

Amelia Riggs

Suggestions
Midnight Cleaners cover

Midnight Cleaners

Cleaners from Venus
Replica Sun Machine cover

Replica Sun Machine

The Shortwave Set
Deep Fantasy cover

Deep Fantasy

White Lung
Elastica cover

Elastica

Elastica
Singles cover

Singles

Future Islands
Home cover

Home

Off with Their Heads
Radio DDR cover

Radio DDR

Sharp Pins