It had been roughly a decade since Titus Andronicus last issued a full-length, with 2015's The Most Lamentable Tragedy standing as their most recent — a wildly sweeping rock opera built around the subject of manic depression. Considering the band remains one of the most compelling rock outfits around, they made it work: the record landed among our favorites for that year. Now comes news of a follow-up: A Productive Cough, advertised as offering a "subtler, more spacious approach." Project architect Patrick Stickles steers the LP toward a quieter, ballad-leaning terrain here, though there's still room for the kind of sweeping, larger-than-life rockers the band is known for. And yes, the record includes a take on Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" — just in case the ambition angle felt under-served.
Along with the news, A Productive Cough gets its first taste via the opening number, "Number One (In New York)." It serves as a fitting glimpse of what a Titus "ballad" might actually sound like — meaning, while it begins as a sparse, piano-led track, the piece keeps accumulating instrumentation and Stickles' increasingly intense vocal delivery until the whole thing feels primed to erupt. The scale echoes standout moments from 2010's The Monitor, surging toward a theatrical climax every bit as stirring as the band's best work. Ray Concepcion directed the accompanying clip. Watch it below.
A Productive Cough — tracklist:
01 "Number One (In New York)" 02 "Real Talk" 03 "Above the Bodega (Local Business)" 04 "Crass Tattoo" 05 "(I'm) Like a Rolling Stone" 06 "Home Alone" 07 "Mass Transit Madness (Goin' Loco')"
Tying into the announcement, the band revealed plans for a "first-ever 'acoustic' tour" in support of the record. The dates find Stickles joined by pianist Alex Molini as a duo:
03/07 — Kingston, NY @ BSP Kingston 03/08 — Boston, MA @ The Sinclair 03/09 — Providence, RI @ AS220 03/10 — Burlington, VT @ Arts Riot 03/11 — Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz 03/13 — Toronto, ON @ Great Hall 03/14 — Detroit, MI @ El Club 03/15 — Chicago, IL @ Subterranean 03/16 — Madison, WI @ The Frequency 03/17 — St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club 03/18 — Omaha, NE @ Slowdown 03/19 — Denver, CO @ Globe Hall 03/20 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge 03/22 — Boise, ID @ Treefort Festival 03/23 — Seattle, WA @ Crocodile 03/24 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios 03/27 — Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu Winery 03/28 — San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel 03/29 — Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place 03/31 — Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater 04/02 — San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar 04/03 — Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar 04/06 — Ft. Worth, TX @ Ridglea Room 04/07 — Austin, TX @ Barracuda 04/08 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall 04/10 — Birmingham, AL @ Saturn 04/11 — Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade 04/12 — Durham, NC @ The Pinhook 04/13 — Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel 04/14 — Philadelphia, PA @ UArts Black Box 04/15 — Brooklyn, NY @ Murmrr Ballroom
A Productive Cough arrives 3/2 via Merge. Reserve your copy here.
