In a year when Snooki & the Real Housewives have reduced New Jersey to a national inside joke, one could be forgiven for thinking that their chief export in 2010 was STDs. It would be worth remembering, however, that this is the state where George Washington crossed the Delaware River and where Walt Whitman wrote his deathbed edition of Leaves of Grass. Punk-rockers Titus Andronicus clearly draw a great deal of inspiration from their home state on this Civil War-themed album. In the seven-minute (!) opener (!!), a “A More Perfect Union,” Patrick Stickles sings, “Oh, I never wanted to change the world, but I’m looking for a new New Jersey / ‘cuz tramps like us, baby, we were born to die,” channeling both Billy Bragg and the patron saint of the Garden State, Bruce Springsteen. This is a nerdy, brash, passionate mess of an album and you may find yourself singing along during the first listen. Grade: A-
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