Album of the Week: Titus Andronicus -- The Monitor

This album was released in 2010, and while I've liked it for a while, I rediscovered it lately. Titus Andronicus gets its name from the Shakespeare tragedy, but don't think this band is a mellow bunch of bookworms. In fact, they're a punk band with a ton of energy.

This album isn't your typical punk rock album, however. I grew up listening to a small sample of punk -- NOFX, Bad Religion, Operation Ivy, etc. I wouldn't call myself a punk rock aficionado by any means, but I know that most punk songs are straight to the point. Usually no more than three minutes long, with a scarce amount of guitar solos. While "The Monitor" has all the attitude of a traditional punk record, it's much more epic. Songs build, there are guitar solos, some of the songs reach 8 minutes long.

And perhaps my favorite aspect of the album is the way the songs flow into each other. This is truly an album, as opposed to a collection of songs. It may not be for everyone. If you don't like punk music, you may not like this album. But give it a chance and maybe it will surprise you.