This summer, revered rock institution Titus Andronicus have teased their forthcoming seventh studio album The Will to Live with a series of singles (such as “(I’m) Screwed” and “Give Me Grief”) that have been strikingly concise, melodic, upbeat, and to-the-point. Longtime fans could be forgiven for worrying that the ever-restless rockers, who built their legend with historical concept albums and 90-minute rock operas, had forsaken their characteristically lofty ambitions in pursuit of pop perfection.
Today the band has released “An Anomaly,” a seven-minute powerhouse of a single that shows why the band is one of the most underrated rock institutions.
While hitting as hard as any single before it, “An Anomaly” raises the stakes and expands the scope of The Will to Live to a cinematic widescreen epic. Over a thumping groove, singer-songwriter Patrick Stickles delivers a Milton-esque dissertation on humanity’s fall from grace, buoyed by angelic harmonies, until a breathtaking guitar solo from Josée Caron of the Canadian rock band Partner elevates the whole affair to “Hotel California” levels. The end result, Stickles says, was intended to evoke “Eliminator-era ZZ Top covering Silver Jews.”
