Record Double Review: Title Fight – Shed

TITLE FIGHT
Shed CD
(SideOneDummy Records)
Purchase This Album Now

Pennsylvania is a hotspot for music of all kinds. Heavyweights like AUGUST BURNS RED, THE WONDER YEARS, and lesser known hardcore/pop punk band TITLE FIGHT. Formed in 2003 by vocalist/guitarist Jamie Rhoden and brothers Ben and Ned Russin (they added Shane Moran on second guitar in 2005 and have had a solid line-up since), TITLE FIGHT plays a very interesting blend of pop punk, hardcore, and alternative rock. Their music has a definite true feel and emotion to it, and you will notice immediately after listening to their newest album, Shed. The record kicks right out the gate with the blistering minute and a half opener “Coxton Yard”. Don’t make an assumption too quickly that these guys play an immature bubble gum pop blend of music. TITLE FIGHT is incredibly mature. Shed seems to flow seamlessly from one track to the next, enticing you in, and before you know it, you’re listening to it all over again. The album is 100% more mature and evolved than their previous effort, and the connection of all the songs as a whole displays this perfectly. They have truly found their sound with this record digging deep into themselves and pulling out all their emotions. There are times where, for several songs you won’t know when a new song has started (ie “Crescent Shaped Depression”, “Safe In Your Skin”, “Where Am I?”) because of the perfect flow created on this album. Jamie Rhoden steps away from the yells and wailing of TITLE FIGHT at times, and gives outright good clean vocals on tracks like “Safe In Your Skin”. All of this is not to say that the TITLE FIGHT of old is gone; they still have a need for speed on songs like “Coxton Yard”, “You Can’t Say Kingston Doesn’t Love You”, and “Shed”. While the record runs a semi short 27 minutes, you are sure to get enjoyment out of this album over and over again. To call Shed just an album isn’t fair to it. The atmosphere it creates for the listener propels it to the top above a sea of mediocrity in pop punk today. (GC)

I knew this day would come. Maybe not yet and maybe not with SideOneDummy, but I knew these PA hardcore kids would one day make big waves in the world of independent music. After a trio of fist pumping, wildly energetic and instantly classic 7“ records, TITLE FIGHT have aligned themselves with West Coast indie stalwart label SideOneDummy for one of the years most anticipated discs.

A band who have always embraced the ideology of  ‘short, fast, and loud’, TITLE FIGHT don’t stray too far from their roots here, churning out quick songs of punchy punk fury with melodic hardcore influences sprinkled throughout. Though their songs are certainly tuneful and the strategically placed melodies make it immediately memorable, this is far too gritty and raw to file under pop-punk, but at the same time it’s far from the cliché, finger pointing, hardcore, too. Although that’s always been part of TITLE FIGHT’s charm, the ability to find the balance between the two genres without relying on one side too heavily.

Where TITLE FIGHT spread their wings here are the softer, slower moments that appear midway through this record, changing up the breakneck speed anthems, displaying diversity rarely seen in a hardcore/punk band. Whether you miss the old days of LIFETIME and KID DYNAMITE, wish SAVES THE DAY still had the sound of their first record or just enjoy pummeling, buzzsaw style melodic hardcore, Shed will be a nice addition to your collection. (TH)

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