Titles is a four-piece band from New Haven, Connecticut. For all intents and purposes, they seem like regular guys. They hold down jobs, devote an inordinate amount of time to their band and probably don’t wear scarves in the height of summer. You know, regular guys. Well, seemingly anyways. The band formed in 2004 following the dissolution of guitarist Brad Amorosino’s former band. (They graduated college and got jobs.) So Amorosino started a solo project. He found a drummer named John Miller, dubbed themselves Titles and gained some local momentum, eventually recording a self-titled album (with the addition of bassist Adrian van de Graaff) for Welcome Home records. But the story doesn’t end there. It actually kinda stops. Then starts up again. Here’s where it gets slightly irregular.
Following the release, the band added Matt Wilson on guitar and pedal steel. But instead of hitting the ground running, Titles threw their songs away and started anew. The change, however irregular it might seem, restructured the sound of Titles a fair bit. It challenged the band to dig further inside of themselves for what needed to sonically come out. And the brand of pop-influenced indie rock that arose from Titles’ clean slate proved that all was not regular in the world of the band. The sound became more dense and contemplative, animated by tales of separation, confusion and loneliness. Clearly, Titles was getting better at baring it all, as evidenced on their recently released second album, ‘Up With The Sun.’
Recorded at Tarquin Studios with Greg Giorgio and Peter Katis, ‘Up With The Sun’ almost starts on an upbeat note, but through the right amount of depressive themes and pedal steel, quickly gets down to the heart of the matter in a Centro-Matic meets Westerberg kinda way. Amorosino’s simple but shuddered delivery pulls the listener in, baring the humble and honest skeleton of a life that’s been let down more than a few times, strengthened only by the band’s innate ability to balance a jangly melody with both uncertain discord and promising endnotes. More simply put, ‘Up With The Sun’ animates an honest human experience. It’s up and it’s down. It’s confusion and enlightenment. Occasionally, it’s not afraid of a gratuitous guitar solo. And above all, it’s anything but regular.
To stream selections from Titles ‘Up With The Sun,’ check their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/titles
