I’m going to say it: on paper, it’s really hard to defend Titus Andronicus.

On the surface, a bunch of scraggly punk guys making heartland rock filtered through a nasally, basement show-ready howler of a frontman is for a special type of person. Couple that with demanding album lengths (this year’s The Most Lamentable Tragedy clocks in at 92 minutes), a lyricist that (sort of egotistically) uses The Velvet Underground as a comparison point for his own band’s successes, and frequent insistences that they’re “saving punk” and it’s easy to see an on-the-fencer sliding off the post.

But this is, of course, just what the paper reads. I imagine the six New Jersey guys that make up Titus Andronicus don’t concern themselves with what’s on “the paper” unless it’s Shakespearian, something about their love of Civil War trivia, or kindling material. Despite such apathy, Titus is the rare combo of intelligence and raw, teeth-knocked-out-of-your-skull-in-a-pit inhibition that is just so damned ridiculous, it can’t help but draw attention.

My father’s attention might’ve been elsewhere when we caught him in the middle of a family beach house weekend (without me, ouch), but he seemed to concur that The Most Lamentable Tragedy has…er, something unique going on.

Tim: Wait, so you showed [Titus Andronicus] to the whole family?

Dad: No, your cousin’s boyfriend was here for the second song you sent over [“Come On, Siobhán”] and then everyone came around for the third one, [“Mr. E. Mann”]. But yeah, that first one, “Dimed Out”… I absolutely hated it.

Tim: [laughs] Oh man, that’s one of my favorites!

Dad: I couldn’t understand a word he said. Good thing the YouTube video had the lyrics! First of all, what the heck’s getting “dimed up” mean?

“Dimed out” is like turning an amp up to full blast, which is 10, hence the dime.

Well yeah, we just Googled them and found a play by Shakespeare. The drums were good, very Hawaii Five-0. It was also very Sex Pistols-like with all the screaming. Because he ain’t singing…

Were you ever into Sex Pistols back in the day?

No, not at all.

But it has that big chorus! I know you like choruses.

I didn’t. I didn’t like this one, nope.

Okay then… second song, “Come On, Siobhán”. How was that?

With the next two songs, I wish you hadn’t said anything about Springsteen beforehand. My notes just say “son of Springsteen.”

Really?

Oh my God, it’s amazing. I dunno what it is. Great tune, his voice… again, not the greatest voice, but still, it was so amazingly Springsteen. Are you sure this isn’t a cover?

[laughs] They do Daniel Johnston and Pogues covers on this album, but no, Springsteen was not involved.

Oh yeah, I know the Pogues. Your mother said the second song sounds like an Irish drinking song with all the chanting, so I could see that. It was still so Springsteen though! It had organs, violins, background singers, just classic Jersey-type music.

This is definitely their most Springsteen-esque record, but I hear slight Meat Loaf/Bat Out Of Hell elements with how equally theatrical and good ol’ rock and roll it is. Am I just hearing that?

Sort of. Actually, at two minutes and fifty seconds in the “Siobhán” song, it stops and became a different song altogether like an Act II or something. The last song, “Mr. E. Mann”, is sort of rock opera-ish, but yeah, a lot of punk thrown in.

Just to confirm, you listened to zero punk growing up, correct?

Nope. Just me, white bread over here.

 Who then, other than Springsteen, would you recommend listening to based on this? 

One of the lead guitarist of Springsteen’s E Street Band is Steven Van Zandt. He was Little Steven on The Sopranos, but for a while there, he wrote music for one of my favorite bands, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes. But then he wrote a bunch of songs that Springsteen didn’t want and Southside Johnny didn’t want, so then he started his own band called Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul. He borrowed the horn section of the Jukes from Southside Johnny. But anyway, Van Zandt’s voice is not good like this Titus guy’s, but it’s all this Jersey type music, which I love. It’s like, “oof, that voice!”, then “ooh, that music!”

What is it about Jersey that produces this kind of music? Titus is actually from Jersey too.

It’s always the beaches and getting in the car and driving. I dunno. Anyway, that third song… I just wrote, “Springsteen cover” because, again, I’m pretty sure this was on a Bruce Springsteen album.

Ouch.

No, I figured it out, it’s the piano on both. Bruce has a piano man and there’s piano on [“Mr. E. Mann”] too. It’s just that Jersey thing, that and the horns. But yeah, overall, good pick.

Yeah? You actually like Titus?

If they had a better singer, I could see them getting big. But yeah, I liked the music. You wanna hear something funny though? You can’t put this in the article.

If it’s real bad, I won’t. What is it though?

So we played the first song, “Dimed Out”, and then we went over to “Siobhán” in the next tab. It sounded loud, kinda awful at first, and then about a minute in, the loudness stopped. Apparently, YouTube does this thing where it just loops into the next song, but we just assumed the song kinda sucked or something. It just keeps looping to the next and next and next and next though.

That’s autoplay; you can turn that off! Look in the right hand corner of the page.

Ah, okay! But if you play the two songs together, you honestly can’t tell they’re a different song until a certain point.

Oh my god, I have to put that in the article. Are you sure you liked this band?

Nah, it was good! It’s sort of like gelato: you gotta get two flavors. That’s what they did in Italy!

[laughs] Do you want gelato or something?

Yeah, gelato on the beach in Jersey.