Last month, revered rock veterans Titus Andronicus came roaring back onto the rock scene with the announcement of their seventh studio album The Will to Live, and the release of the raucous first single, “(I'm) Screwed,” which immediately inspired feverish anticipation and rapturous accolades from fans old and new alike.
Today, the curtain is pulled back a little further, offering a fuller picture of the emotional and sonic spectrum of the upcoming album, as Titus Andronicus shares the second proper single of this new era, “Give Me Grief.” This new track is a more contemplative affair than its shouty and defiant predecessor, but no less of a proper windows-down rock anthem that will have fists pumping all summer and beyond.
LISTEN TO “GIVE ME GRIEF” WATCH OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO PRE-ORDER THE WILL TO LIVE “Thematically, The Will to Live is an attempt on my part to reckon with the cruelest of life’s truths,” explains singer-songwriter Patrick Stickles, “which is that, the wider you open yr heart to the good things in yr life (love, hope, etc.), the more you expose yrself to life’s most harrowing pains. A full and rich life demands a vulnerability that will inevitably be rewarded with intense suffering. I have had to think about this a lot over the past couple years, as my father lay in a 50-day medically induced coma with no promise of his eventual awakening, or as my cousin was laid far too soon in his grave, or as I shivered one dreadful Christmas eve outside the animal hospital, hoping that a last-minute blood transfusion might save my anemic cat. These moments of agony could have been avoided had I simply closed myself off from the joys offered to me by those I love, but that is no way to live, and I force myself to move forward beckoning love in all its forms, however frightening a prospect. Grief is necessary, for without the threat of grief, there can be no love, and life without love is no life at all.”
To that end, “Give Me Grief” is a duet between Stickles and former Titus Andronicus drummer Eric Harm (lately of up-and-coming power pop outfit Eric Harm and the $100), and the official video also shared today (once again directed by Titus Andronicus mainstay Ray Concepcion, with blocking and choreography from Stickles) showcases their enduring chemistry and camaraderie, with assists from Titus Andronicus bassist R.J. Gordon and saxophonist Ryan Weisheit. Harm contributes backing vocals to three additional songs on The Will to Live, adding to the lush harmonic landscape which listeners will find both familiar and fresh.
This inclusive collaborative spirit spreads across The Will to Live, which also features duets with Titus Andronicus guitarist Liam Betson and Josée Caron of the Canadian rock band Partner, as well as contributions from members of Arcade Fire, the Hold Steady, and the E Street Band.
LISTEN TO “(I’M) SCREWED” WATCH OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
Titus Andronicus will celebrate The Will to Live with the first leg of their 2022–23 world tour which begins with their record release show September 30 at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC. For complete details and ticket information, please visit titusandronicus.net/tour.
TITUS ANDRONICUS TOUR 2022
Sept 24 Atlantic City, NJ – Frantic City Festival Sept 30 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle Oct 1 Columbia, SC – Jam Room Festival Oct 3 Atlanta, GA – The Earl Oct 4 Nashville, TN – DRKMTTR Oct 5 Oxford, MS – Proud Larry’s Oct 6 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks Oct 7 San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger Oct 8 Austin, TX – Far Out Oct 9 Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum Art Co Oct 10 Tulsa, OK – The Vanguard Oct 12 Fayetteville, AR – George’s Majestic Lounge Oct 13 St. Louis, MO – Blueberry Hill Oct 14 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar Oct 15 Cleveland, OH – Mahall’s Oct 16 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace Oct 17 Ottawa, ON – Club SAW Oct 18 Montreal, QC – L’Esco Oct 21 Woodstock, NY – Colony Oct 22 Holyoke, MA – Race Street Live Oct 23 Pawtucket, RI – The Met Oct 25 Portland, ME – Space Oct 26 Portsmouth, NH – 3S Artspace Oct 27 Boston, MA – Crystal Ballroom
# # #
With The Will to Live, Titus Andronicus invite listeners on a journey from fear to faith, from anger to acceptance, from grief to gratitude, all chasing the mythical ideal of Ultimate Rock. Drawing on maximalist rock epics from Who’s Next to Hysteria, the band have crafted their richest, densest, and hardest-hitting album to date, matching the sprawl and scope of their most celebrated work while also streamlining their ambitious attack to greater effect than ever before.
“It may strike some as ironic we had to go to Canada to record our equivalent to Born in the USA,” says Stickles, “but the pursuit of Ultimate Rock knows no borders.”
Titus Andronicus made their long-awaited return to the stage in November of 2021 to celebrate the anniversary of their landmark second album, 2010’s The Monitor. The act of playing that material before an ecstatic audience left Stickles determined to deliver an album that would reach for those same lofty heights, this time relying less on the reckless fire of youth, but more on the experience and perspective at which a band only arrives with a thousand shows under their belt.
To reach this level of focus and clarity, Stickles had to stand on the nexus of triumph and tragedy. He credits a newfound domestic bliss and steadfast mental health regimen for his own recent stretch of personal stability, as well as the endurance of what has become the longest-running consistent lineup of Titus Andronicus – Liam Betson on guitar, R.J. Gordon on bass, and Chris Wilson on drums, all of whom featured on 2018’s A Productive Cough and 2019’s An Obelisk. On the crueler side of the coin, The Will to Live was created in large part as an attempt to process the untimely 2021 death of Matt “Money” Miller, the band’s founding keyboardist and Stickles’ closest cousin. The result proves a milestone for Titus Andronicus, an ambitious, forward-facing work which stands tall on the nexus of triumph and tragedy, fueled by newfound focus and clarity, showcasing a uniquely gifted rock ’n’ roll band at the very peak of their creative powers.
“Certain recent challenges, some unique to myself and some we have all shared, but particularly the passing of my dearest friend, have forced me to recognize not only the precious and fragile nature of life, but also the interconnectivity of all life,” Stickles says. “Loved ones we have lost are really not lost at all, as they, and we still living, are all component pieces of a far larger continuous organism, which both precedes and succeeds our illusory individual selves, united through time by (you guessed it) the will to live. Recognition of this self-evident truth demands that we extend the same empathy and compassion we would wish for ourselves outward to every living creature, even to those we would label our enemies, for we are all cells in the same body, sprung from a common womb, devoted to the common cause of survival.
“Naturally, though, our long-suffering narrator can only arrive at this conclusion through a painful and arduous odyssey through Hell itself – this is a Titus Andronicus record, after all.”.
###
TITUS ANDRONICUS THE WILL TO LIVE (Merge Records) Release Date: Friday, September 30
The album comes packaged with gorgeous triple-gatefold artwork by illustrious illustrator Nicole Rifkin. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment