Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
ie8 fix
The Monitor - Titus Andronicus
The Monitor Image
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 82 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Summary: The first full-length album on XL Recordings for the rock band from New Jersey was named after a warship that fought during the American Civil War.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. No Ripcord
    100
    Titus Andronicus have created an album that will grip the listener, carry them along on a tide of spit and blood and youthful aggression, and leave them dazed and exhausted at the end, with no other option but to start the record all over again.
  2. Paste Magazine
    91
    "The enemy is everywhere" is The Monitor's twice-invoked refrain, the central thesis of an album that's both uncompromisingly bleak and impossible to ignore.
  3. PopMatters
    60
    Neither a home run, then, nor the dreaded sophomore slump, The Monitor is, it is probably more fair to say, the album that finds the band maturing beyond the precocious triumph of their debut by first having to pass through their awkward, gangly adolescent phase.

See all 32 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. db0928
    10
    The clear-cut pick for album of the year; this manages to outdo its absolutely stellar debut album in every way, and kicks your face in for a solid 65 minutes. Patrick Stickles is a songwriter and lyricist on par with the best of them, and there is not a weak track on here. Pure Brilliance.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. qwer7yfreak
    10
    7.6 overall rating is **** **** The people who gave this a negative score are all **** idiots.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. Rob
    10
    Messy, confused, angry, brilliant.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes

See all 13 User Reviews

Related Articles

  1. Best of 2010, Music

    2010 Music Critic Top Ten Lists [Updated Jan. 7]

    2010 Music Critic Top Ten Lists [Updated Jan. 7] Image
    Published: December 6, 2010
    Throughout the next two months, we'll be tracking the year-end Top Ten lists published by various music sites, magazines, and more. Find out which albums are currently in the running for best album of the year.
    More »
  2. Music

    March's Best New Music

    March's Best New Music Image
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Looking for something good to listen to? Our list of the past month’s best-reviewed releases includes new albums from Erykah Badu, Dillinger Escape Plan, Liars, The Besnard Lakes, and more.
    More »

Recommended Products

  1. The Airing Of Grievances - Titus Andronicus

    • Release Date: May 13, 2008
    The Airing Of Grievances Image

  2. Swim - Caribou

    • Release Date: Apr 20, 2010
    Swim Image

  3. Teen Dream - Beach House

    • Release Date: Jan 26, 2010
    Teen Dream Image

Current Music Releases

Full List »
  1. Tago Mago [40th Anniversary Edition] - Can
    Metascore: 99
  2. Live in Europe 1967: Best of the Bootleg, Vol. 1 - Miles Davis
    Metascore: 99
  3. Siamese Dream [Deluxe Edition] - Smashing Pumpkins
    Metascore: 96
  4. The SMiLE Sessions - The Beach Boys
    Metascore: 96
  5. National Treasures: The Complete Singles - Manic Street Preachers
    Metascore: 95
  6. Satan Is Real/Handpicked Songs 1955-1962 - The Louvin Brothers
    Metascore: 94
  7. Achtung Baby [Super Deluxe] - U2
    Metascore: 93
  8. Some Girls [Deluxe Edition] - The Rolling Stones
    Metascore: 93
  9. Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down - Ry Cooder
    Metascore: 92
  10. Unto the Locust - Machine Head
    Metascore: 91
  11. Quadrophenia [The Director's Cut] - The Who
    Metascore: 90
  12. Rio [Live] - Keith Jarrett
    Metascore: 90
  13. What Were You Hoping For? - Van Hunt
    Metascore: 90
  14. Bitch Magnet - Bitch Magnet
    Metascore: 90
  15. Charity Starts at Home - Phonte
    Metascore: 89
  16. Nevermind [20th Anniversary Edition] - Nirvana
    Metascore: 89
  17. Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller, Vol. 1 - Drexciya
    Metascore: 88
  18. Bad as Me - Tom Waits
    Metascore: 88
  19. The Singles - Goldfrapp
    Metascore: 88
  20. Undun - The Roots
    Metascore: 88
All Current Music »