Since debuting in 2008, Titus Andronicus [hereafter +@] has been conditioning faithful listeners to always expect only the unexpected, consistently zigging where others would zag and maintaining a steadfast dedication to fearless ambition. With the March 2release of the new studio album A Productive Cough on Merge Records, +@ has executed the most shocking departure yet—but only if, as ever-mercurial singer-songwriter Patrick Stickles insists, “you haven’t been paying attention.”
A Productive Cough finds +@ setting aside the lead-footed punk anthems of yesteryear in favor of a subtler, more spacious approach that pushes Stickles’ soul-baring songwriting to the fore, creating a conversational intimacy between artist and audience with which previous +@ efforts had only flirted. “[+@] records have always had their fair share of ballads,” Stickles explains, “but they were always buried. Now, they are the cornerstones.”
The mission of A Productive Cough is made apparent from the first bars of opening track “Number One (In New York),” debuting today along with a blockbuster music video directed by Ray Concepcion. As a twinkling tableau of piano and dulcet horns unfolds, Stickles unleashes a merciless, unceasing 64-bar verse with subject matter as sprawling as the track’s kitchen-sink arrangement, which grows to include sparkling guitars, twinkling bells, and uplifting choral vocals as Stickles searches desperately for the strength to carry on through an increasingly violent and frightening world.
The “Number One (In New York)” music video serves as a trailer of sorts for the forthcoming 60-minute “making of the album” documentary film, also directed by Ray Concepcion, to be released February 26. Viewers will be granted unprecedented access to New Paltz, NY’s Marcata Recording, where A Productive Cough was recorded under the guidance of longtime +@ producer Kevin S. McMahon. Clips from the film will be periodically unveiled over the coming weeks at a-productive-cough.com, the newly launched site which will function as a one-stop shop for curious fans to follow the developing story of +@’s bold new era.
The release of A Productive Cough will be accompanied by +@’s first-ever “acoustic” tour of the United States, which will find Stickles performing in a duo configuration with pianist Alex Molini. Find those dates below, all of which feature direct support courtesy of Rick Maguire from Pile, and don’t miss your chance to spend “a quiet evening with +@.”
Titus Andronicus on tour:
Mar 07 Kingston, NY – BSP Kingston
Mar 08 Boston, MA – The Sinclair
Mar 09 Providence, RI – AS220
Mar 10 Burlington, VT – Arts Riot
Mar 11 Montreal, QC – Bar Le Ritz
Mar 13 Toronto, ON – Great Hall
Mar 14 Detroit, MI – El Club
Mar 15 Chicago, IL – Subterranean
Mar 16 Madison, WI – The Frequency
Mar 17 St. Paul, MN – Turf Club
Mar 18 Omaha, NE – Slowdown
Mar 19 Denver, CO – Globe Hall
Mar 20 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
Mar 22 Boise, ID – Treefort Festival
Mar 23 Seattle, WA – Crocodile
Mar 24 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
Mar 27 Sonoma, CA – Gundlach Bundschu Winery
Mar 28 San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
Mar 29 Santa Cruz, CA – Crepe Place
Mar 31 Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Theater
Apr 02 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
Apr 03 Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
Apr 06 Ft. Worth, TX – Ridglea Room
Apr 07 Austin, TX – Barracuda
Apr 08 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
Apr 10 Birmingham, AL – Saturn
Apr 11 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
Apr 12 Durham, NC – The Pinhook
Apr 13 Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel
Apr 14 Philadelphia, PA – UArts Black Box
Apr 15 Brooklyn, NY – Murmrr Ballroom
