Mike Sembos on Titus Andronicus

"Why such an exhausting schedule? 'For one thing, if you’re going to do something you should do your best and try your hardest, whatever that happens to be in your particular life,' says singer/guitarist Patrick Stickles. … As far as its sound goes, in this vague era of indie rock (a label that doesn’t mean much of anything anymore), Titus Andronicus injects a much-missed dose of punk rock back into the modern era. They’re from Jersey, and they reference Springsteen, but they’ve got more in common with subterranean Jersey natives like the Bouncing Souls or Lifetime. But then again, most punk bands don’t have a concept album about the Civil War (it’s called The Monitor, referring to the famous ironclad warship) with a 14-minute song about a particular battle.
 'I think that a long-playing record should be a cohesive statement,' Stickles says. 'The songs, while retaining their individuality, should combine to form a greater picture. It’s clear to me that the concepts driving those events are very much at work today. History has a way of putting things in perspective and things that seem remote and distant and archaic are just in hiding'
" ("Music: Coming Up Jersey," New Haven Advocate, 4/8/10, p. 38).