The Monitor Merok  * * * *

Thanks to a powerful live show and a strong debut album, New Jersey's Titus Andronicus have enjoyed acclaim for their rowdy, irreverant, ramshackle, beery and cheery blue-collar rock'n' roll. For The Monitor, they've upped the ante on several fronts – and not just by turning the guitars up a notch.

Opening with a reading of an 1838 speech by Abraham Lincoln, the album uses concepts from the American Civil War to turn the focus on life in a humdrum modern town, probably not unlike the one the band hail from. Few other garage-rock brats can sneer or howl like Patrick Stickles, and certainly few other acts exhibit the same exuberence and rollicking lust for life as Titus Andronicus at full pelt. On tracks such A More Perfect Union, Titus Andronicus Foreverand, especially, The Battle of Hampton Roads, the band combine nervous energy, rebel yells and frantic playing to send you home sweating. See myspace.com/titusandronicus

Download tracks: A More Perfect Union, The Battle of Hampton Roads