Floral Green

Title Fight

Title Fight were one of the more prominent acts in the underground emo revival scene and personally, one of my favourites in that genre around that time. The band's defining characteristic comes from the band's two vocalists Ned Russin and Jamie Rhoden. They're approach is an impassioned, full-tilt, forceful delivery that results in vocals that are distorted and often not on key. Despite its flaws, I truly appreciate how they give their all to each performance. Just listen to the verses on Like a Ritual. The sheer intensity of Rhoden's voice as he forces himself to hit these high notes, probably to the detriment of his vocal cords, reverberates within me, sending chills down my spine. The other element I like about Title Fight's music is the heavy use of guitar bends in their riffs. I find this particular technique to be very catchy and gives the music a bit of a woozy, disorienting feeling. A good example of this is the very beginning of Leaf where the riff is essentially just two notes quickly bending up and down. The second the track comes on, I'm immediately onboard.

On this record, the band started to incorporate elements of shoegaze; more guitars, more distortion, overall creating a thicker wall of sound. This is most apparent on Head In the Ceiling Fan, where after a quiet guitar intro, we are saturated with distorted guitars and bass. It is also the most downtempo song on the record and I can't help but close my eyes and just sway in the waves that wash over me. On the other hand, some tracks are produced a little more straightforward, like Secret Society. This track is an absolutely punk rager with grunge, driving guitars, Russin's messy yelps, and a fuzzy, minimal guitar solo to cap things off.

The first half of the record is quite exciting but does lose a little steam as it goes on. None of the songs in the back half are bad, but I do think they're missing that one special element that is keeping me from really loving it. It's crazy to think that this record is approaching ten years old as I can vividly remember myself and the local punk/hardcore/emo community anticipating the release of this record. When I listen to it today, it brings back all those fond memories of playing intimate local shows with my friends. Those were really good, unforgettable times.