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Live Reviews Music

La Dispute and Title Fight Live at The Garage

La Dispute/Title Fight
The Garage, London
20th September 2012

From the get go, Title Fight had the audience exactly where they wanted them. Everyone was ferocious, and as eager to sing along with vocalist, Jamie Rhoden. The crowd, ever so relentless, couldn’t help themselves but to climb on the stage at every opportunity.

At any one given time, there were at least three fans either climbing on the stage, or diving off. At first, it was quite cool; fans showing their support and singing along, forgetting about the bruises and jumping into the pit, but the novelty factor soon wore off. If not for the Title Fights’s musicianship, it would’ve been difficult putting up with such distractions. It was impressive to see them pull of a flawless set in the midst of cables being ripped off mics, and roadies on call every few minutes to fix a stand or make sure nothing else was damaged. Gang chants are one thing, but to have the crowd to sing, more like shout, to every word in the set was something else.

Title Fight occasionally drifted off in an almost shoegaze-esque fashion, taking the crowd with them in these calm moments before the storm reappeared. The set list was filled with songs from their debut album ‘Shed’, EP ‘The Last Thing You Forget’, and not forgetting tracks from latest release ‘Floral Green‘. Title Fight pulled of an awesome performance, despite the over eager and somewhat off-putting crowd.

The crowd, the energy, the feel and the atmosphere refined to a less destructive and a more aware audience as heroes La Dispute emerge. The hardcore kids seem to have got crowd surfing out of their systems. La Dispute just make the crowd listen and hang on to every word.

La Dispute, one of bands which make up “The Wave” which have taken Post-Hardcore by storm and stand out because of the their eclectic styles and lyrical content, with the majority of their songs based on true events, accounts and retelling of old stories which they’ve acquired from meeting various people on their travels. And this is precisely why the songs are so gripping. And despite being sad they’re honest memento’s to lives once lived.

Tonight’s set list was varied, covering material from the acclaimed albums ‘Somewhere At The Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair’ and the most recent ‘Wildlife‘. The show started of with all out bruised bodies and the whole heart shrinks which perfectly exemplifies Jordan Dreyer’s vocal styling, from starting off like a spoken word poem and drifting off to screaming out the rest.

They played, for the first time live, ‘St Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church Blues‘ which was a hit with the crowd. But the outstanding song of the night, one that’s rarely played was ‘Andria’ .

After charging through a truly awesome and emotional set. La Dispute re-emerged for a two song encore. ‘Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit’ and ‘King Park’ which left the crowd roaring out loud “Can I still get in to heaven if i kill myself”. La Dispute need to hit our shores more often, too many people missed out on tonight due to the intimate venue size, plus there are many more epic songs to be heard live.

Words: Arif Noor
Photos: Adam Waugh

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music Reviews

Title Fight

Title Fight Floral Green Album Artwork Cover
Title Fight
Floral Green

[Side One Dummy]

Title Fight are back with their second album, ‘Floral Green’, via label Side One Dummy, and it’s nothing short of amazing.

Floral Green is one of those albums where right from the first track you know in your bones that its going to special. The album is a master class in post-hardcore punk, and it’s all rounded off with the perfect hint of melody.

The first three tracks have so much energy that they rattle out at you, like bullets fired from a machine gun. Yet they aren’t the only stars, on ‘Floral Green‘ every track is a gem. From the uplifting, high-tempo rawness of ‘Leaf’, to the slow waltzing, dissonance of ‘Head In The Ceiling Fan’ you can’t fault the band or the record.

If you like your punk in the post-hardcore vein, and for good measure you like energy broken up by a few slowed down melodies then you’ll love this album. If you hadn’t previously heard of Title Fight but you’re a fan of Crime In Stereo, The Wonder Years or Man Overboard, this one’s for you.

If you’re already part of the passionate Title Fight fan base then you’ll eagerly be wanting to buy this album anyway.

Words: JJ Nattrass

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Music Music News

Title Fight Documentary and Single

Today, Crossfire favourites Title Fight dropped latest single ‘Secret Society‘ which is from their forthcoming full-length record ‘Floral Green‘. The single can be purchased here via Side One Dummy Records and is available to stream below.

In other Title Fight news, the band recently posted the second part of their documentary (directed/edited by Alex Henery) online. The short film features the band at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA with engineer/producer Will Yip. Watch it below:

Categories
Features Music

Must See Shows: September 2012


After a triumphant Reading & Leeds last weekend, the outdoor festival season has pretty much drawn to a close, but fear not, there are plenty of gigs coming up to get your teeth into for those still hungry for more gnarly music. Below is a list of shows that Crossfire recommends over September 2012.

B.DOLAN’s “The Church of Love & Ruin”

1st – MILTON KEYNES, UK – Crauford Arms (B. DOLAN ONLY, EXTENDED SOLO SET), 2nd – BRISTOL, The Croft (B. DOLAN ONLY, EXTENDED SOLO SET), 3rd – LONDON The Jazz Cafe, 4th – LIVERPOOL Kazimier, 5th – BIRMINGHAM HMV Institute, 6th – READING SUB89 (ft. headlining set from SAGE FRANCIS), 7th – BRIGHTON Coalition (ft. headlining set from SAGE FRANCIS)

Rapper B.Dolan presents ‘The Church Of Love & Ruin’. In the words of the man himself expect the following: “Inspired by the ’boutique festival’ scene, “Church” focuses on atmosphere, handpicked artists, and chaotic, inspired moments of surprise throughout the show (i.e. being part of a ‘toilet paper dodgeball’ game with 800 other people). Come & be blessed.”

BLOOD OF THE SPECTRE / DOOMED FROM DAY ONE

11th – BIRMINGHAM Scruffy Murphy’s, 12th – LONDON The New Cross Inn, 13th – SWINDON 12 Bar, 14th – MAIDENHEAD HOBFEST Hobgoblin, 16th – HIGH WYCOMBE Scorpio’s Bar

Pay particular attention to Doomed From Day One on this UK tour. The young band mix everything from The Black Dahlia Murder inspired vocals and riffs to experimental jazz in their unique sound! Out of all the dates, Maidenhead looks like the one, although it doesn’t hit the map too often in musical terms, catching them in this sweaty venue with fine ales on tap seems like an opportunity not to be missed.

DYING FETUS

16th – BRIGHTON Concorde2 , 17th – NORWICH Waterfront, 18th – BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy 2
19th – READING Sub89, 20th – MANCHESTER Club Academy, 21st – GLASGOW Cathouse, 22nd – DUBLIN The Pint, 23rd – LONDON Underworld

It’d be a challenge to find a tour that is more deadly than the’ Womb to Waste Tour’. The line up consists of headliners Dying Fetus, Job For A Cowboy, Revocation and Cerebral Bore.

GNARWOLVES

28th – LONDON Old Blues Last

Gnarwolves, a sick band, they were awesome at Hevy Fest and their latest release ‘Cru’ is always spinning at Crossfire HQ. This show is free, so there’s no reason not to attend!

HER PARENTS

18th – LONDON Camden Barfly

The Barfly is renowned for showcasing the best in new talent, with this gig being one of those nights. Her Parents are an exciting indie band born from the ashes of Dananananaykroyd, Stairs to Korea, and Internet Forever.

LA DISPUTE/TITLE FIGHT

20th – LONDON The Garage

If you are luckily enough to have a ticket for this one off show, you don’t need telling how special it will be. If you don’t it may well be worth splashing out on Viagogo or ebay. La Dispute put on a mesmerising live performance and Title Fight’s fast paced pop-punk is second to none. This is going to be amazing.

PIERCE THE VEIL

16 LEEDS Cockpit 2, 17 NEWCASTLE Academy 2, 18 GLASGOW Ivory Blacks, 20 NOTTINGHAM Rock City Basement, 21 LONDON Underworld, 22 BIRMINGHAM Asylum, 23 MANCHESTER Moho Live, 25 SOUTHAMPTON Joiners, 26 CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach, 27 BRISTOL The Fleece, 28 KINGSTON The Peel

Pierce The Veil are a growing phenomenon over the pond and we can’t get enough of their latest album ‘Collide With The Sky’. These shows seem pretty intimate for a band ready to explode into the scene, catch them while you can.

SCHOLARS

15th – SOUTHSEA Festival, 17th – GUILDFORD The Star, 19th – KINGSTON Bacchus, 20th – SUNDERLAND Bar One, 21st – HARTLEPOOl The Studio, 22nd – BIDEFORD Palladium, 27 SOUTHAMPTON Avondale House, 28th – RAMSGATE Red Arrows Club

The excellent Scholars are touring in support of new single Blinda Data which you can view below.

SOUTHSEA FEST
15th – SOUTHSEA, Various Venues

Bastions, Tall Ships, Polio, Veils, The Social Club, Black Moth, Gnarwolves and many more play this award winning festival that celebrates underground and independent music. Plenty of names on the bill to check out whilst they are still under the radar.

THE MENZINGERS

19th – BIRMINGHAM Hare & Hounds, 20th – MANCHESTER Moho Live, 21st – GLASGOW Captain’s Rest, 22nd – LEEDS Cockpit III, 23ed – SOUTHAMPTON Unit, 24th – BRISTOL Croft, 25th – LONDON Borderline

Melodic punk rock doesn’t get more emotional than The Menzingers, their latest album ‘On The Impossible Past’ is absolutely perfect. Expect songs taken from that release and their large back catalogue of impressive tunes.

WE ARE THE OCEAN/GIANTS

18 – EXETER Cavern, 19 – LONDON Barfly, 20 – LEEDS Cockpit II, 22 – MANCHESTER Deaf Institute, 23 – GLASGOW King Tut’s, 25 – CARLISLE Brickyard, 26 – SHEFFIELD Academy II, 27 – WREXHAM Central Station, 28 – DUBLIN Academy II, 29 – BELFAST Speakeasy

After the controversial departure of vocalist Dan Brown and with a new album up their sleeves it’ll be interesting to see the new look We Are The Ocean perform in front of their own fans. But what’s even more exciting is that skate-punks Giants are opening up the shows. We featured this band latest single ‘Snakes’ earlier in August and are expecting big things to come from them.

THE XCERTS

17th – LONDON, The Borderline

Origionating from Aberdeen, The Xcerts draw influence from iconic Scottish bands such as Biffy Clyro and Suciperro. At this intimate show the young band will be playing their critically acclaimed album ‘Scatterbrain’ in full.

Words: Emma Wallace

Categories
Music Music News Preview

Title Fight Stream Documentary Online

Punk band Title Fight are streaming the first part of their tour documentary online (which was directed and edited by Alex Henery). The film features Title Fight performances on massive stages as support to Rise Against from the April/May 2012 “Endgame” Tour.

Title Fight are over in the UK next month for a one off co-headline show with La Dispute at The Garage in London before heading of on a full Euro tour.

Categories
Music News

Title Fight announce UK tour

Title Fight have announced a number of UK shows in December as part of their European tour.

The band, who will showcase tracks from their album Shed, will be joined on the tour by Balance and Composure and Transit. The full list of shows is below:

11th       Sheffield, Corporation
12th       Glasgow, King Tuts
13th       Manchester, Academy 3
14th       Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
15th       London, Underworld
17th       Birmingham, Academy 2
18th       Bristol, Fleece & Firkin
19th       Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
20th       Kingston, Peel
21st       Dublin, Academy 2

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music Reviews

Title Fight

Shed
Side One Dummy

If you’re somebody who grew up listening to the 90’s output of labels like Jade Tree and Polyvinyl, then ‘emo’ won’t be a dirty word for you. You may look back longingly over your collection of Promise Ring and Mineral records and wonder what exactly happened to the genre, but rest assured my kindred emo spirit, all has not been lost and forgotten. For starters, we have Title Fight.

Following on from a slew of EPs, demos and compilations, it seems odd to be calling this Title Fight’s debut album, but that’s how it’s being sold. Now signed to Side One Dummy it’s undoubtedly their biggest release to date, and it both delivers and expands on expectations. While the Kingston, Pennsylvania band have maintained at least some of their breakneck approach to song writing, this is also a far more rounded effort with a range of different styles explored. While initially I was unsure of the band’s noticeable drop in pace, these songs stay with you, and the band’s progression makes for a more complete and diverse debut record.

In saying that, the band still knows when to let rip, and there is still plenty of instant punk gems on offer. Take single ‘27’ (see video below), for example, which is a front runner for my favourite song of the year. As anthemic as any of their earlier work, the signature combination of palm-muted chords and Jamie Rhoden’s rasping vocal is near pop-punk perfection. The sound is pure 90’s yet somehow manages to feel utterly timeless, even alongside its brilliantly nostalgic music video.

Title Fight are over in the UK next month and I, for one, can’t wait to see these songs brought to life. In a year that’s absolutely brimming with exceptional punk and hardcore records, Shed stands up among the very best of them.

Sleekly Lion.

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Music News

Free Title Fight download

Title Fight’s new album is called Shed and it’s coming out May 2nd, 2011 on SideOneDummy Records. There’s a free download of one of the tracks – 27.

It’s kind of different, slower than the Title Fight you may be familiar with (if you’re familiar with them at all) but the band are assuring us that there are plenty of hard and fast songs on the album too.

Grab the free download here: