Dec. Record Club - Titus Andronicus, "The Most Lamentable...

Went through a few choices to arrive at this decision- thought about the storytelling of David Comes to Life or the scope and ambition of Sandinista! Even thought about Rum, Sodomy & the Lash as a last-minute change but figured there's usually an "In Memoriam" theme in January. Then I realized this is an album with a little bit of all of those- will be back to post some more substantial thoughts but for now dig in and enjoy!

So I was fearing the worst with this, not so much because it's a long-ass punk concept record but because it's a long-ass concept record about the singer's struggles with manic depression, complete with a Daniel Johnston cover for "authenticity". You could argue that I've gravitated to instrumental music over the years out of a desire to avoid my psychologist father's compulsive tendency to psychoanalyze lyrics. But, at the same time, I'm still my father's son who read his textbooks as a kid and depictions of mental illness that come off as facile are nails-on-chalkboard to me.

Turns out I needn't have worried. While Most Lamentable isn't something that would go in my rotation, I found a lot to admire about this record (though I somewhat snarkily want to say we got a Springsteenish album this month despite Powerthirteen's pledge). While I can take or leave the Meat Loaf-esque musical-theater glam like "I Lost My Mind", the punk singalongs are just fine by me. The one-two of "Come On, Siobhan" and "A Pair of Brown Eyes" (the Pogues version of which I played in my wedding mix) is the highlight of this album.

Good choice, Jimmy. You done my nomination proud.