There’s another punk rock/post-hardcore  band besides the Menginzers that hails from northeastern, PA and is starting to gain national recognition. I’m talking about Kingston’s very own Title Fight, a group that has toured relentlessly over the last few years and released a few 7-inches and appeared on various compilations. Today, the band released its debut full-length album, Shed, on the nationally renowned punk rock label SideOneDummy Records.  I placed my order already for the vinyl version, and I hope it arrives in my mailbox this week. But I also heard a full-stream of the album here.

I do like the band’s various 7-inches and some of the older tracks, especially “Symmetry,” but Shed is far richer in terms of production, style, and lyrics. Shed is a little different musically than previous releases. Title Fight no longer sounds like a band trying to belnd pop-punk with hardcore elements. Instead, their sound is more focused here, and they somewhat mirror the  likes of Small Brown Bike, early Hot Water Music, and American Steel, some of my all-time favorites. I say that because of the intricate guitar riffs, big hooks, youthful punch, raspy vocals, and chugging power chords that fill this album. In fact, as soon as I finished listening to the stream of Shed, I wanted to listen to Hot Water Music’s No Division or Forever and Counting, or Rogue’s March by American Steel.

One of my favorite tracks is “27”, which focuses on the loss of a loved one and highlights the band’s lyrical growth.Other standouts include “You Can’t Say Kingston Doesn’t Love You” and “Stab.”

This is a stellar full-length overall, and hopefully the band has just as  long of a career and dedicated fan base as some of its key influences.

To order Shed, click here.