When Titus Andronicus first really started to turn heads, it was back in 2010 with their second album; the follow-up to a loose and concise debut, The Monitor brought everything bigger. a Civil War-themed concept album that ran over an hour in length and featured numerous guest appearances and several shifts in style and tone, that record signaled significant growth for the New Jersey rockers. Because of this, some listeners were somewhat underwhelmed by Local Business, which followed two years later and found a more stripped down effort.
Still, there were plenty of reasons to be excited for what followed; and, what followed turned out to be the band's biggest and boldest statement yet. The Most Lamentable Tragedy, presented as a five act rock opera and featuring a multitude of sonic twists and turns, set a new benchmark for Titus Andronicus' creativity.
It would have been difficult to go much further from here at the time, and so A Productive Cough finds Titus Andronicus once again stripping things down; rather than expanding their reach, they willingly limit themselves within a motif of soulful classic rock, by which I mean think less Shakespeare and more Stones. This record has a swing that hearkens back to Exile On Main Street, especially on highlights Real Talk and Above the Bodega, and it's clear that the band's focus is to create a loose and informal vibe.
There is ambition here, as four tracks stretch out past the seven-minute mark and none run that pronounced a risk of dragging on past their welcomes. There's also heart, as evidenced by ballads Crass Tattoo and Mass Transit Madness. What's more notable here is what A Productive Cough doesn't have, and that's a wealth of original material; despite some epic track lengths, there are only seven songs on the album. One of those is a nine-minute rendition of Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone, leaving just six new songs; perhaps, then, the album's title is a knowingly cheeky reference to its slightness.
All in all, there's nothing inherently bad about A Productive Cough, and it certainly meets the most common criteria for album specs; however, after their 90+ minute magnum opus and the wait of nearly three years that followed, this ends up feeling like an album in spirit at best and a glorified EP for the price of an LP at worst. So as to say, it's enough to satisfy fans' cravings even if it leaves us just a bit hungry for more; fortunately for us, if the pattern continues, the next Titus Andronicus album is going to be absolutely massive.
March 2, 2018 • Merge
Highlights Real Talk • Above the Bodega • Home Alone
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