The Glen Rock, NJ band Titus Andronicus has announced their next album, entitled Local Business, coming out October 23rd on XL Recordings. In a post on the band's official Tumblr, the band expressed a desire to take their lit-damaged lyrics in a slightly more overt direction than their first two LP's, the excellent Titus Andronicus and the doubly excellent The Monitor:
"While abandoning the linear narrative of their last album The Monitor, the songs on Local Business aim to make explicit the implications of the first two LP's, that the inherent meaninglessness of life in an absurd universe gives the individual power to create their own values and their own morality."
Coming from nearly any other band, such a statement would sound pretentious and downright absurd, but the intelligence with which Titus lead singer Patrick Stickles imbues his lyrics make it sound completely sincere.
The title Local Business refers in part to the new, tightened version of the band, which has been narrowed from seven to five, the band's touring iteration and recording group merging. The renowned violinist Owen Pallett (neé Final Fantasy) joined them for some of the tracks, as did drummer Eric Harm's father.
The album's tracklist finds them tweaking earlier song titles ("Upon Viewing Oregon's Landscape With The Flood Of Detrius" is a callback to "Upon Viewing Brueghel's 'Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus'" from their first album), as well as showcasing their trademark humor with "Food Fight" and "Tried To Quit Smoking."
The announcement also came with a promise for an upcoming tour. Check out the full track list below.
1. Ecce Homo
2. Still Life With Hot Deuce And Silver Platter
3. Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape With The Flood Of Detritus
4. Food Fight!
5. My Eating Disorder
6. Titus Andronicus VS. The Absurd Universe (3rd Round KO)
7. In A Big City
8. In A Small Body
9. (I Am The) Electric Man
10. Tried To Quit Smoking
