With their third full-length album Hyperview set to be released in February via ANTI-Records, Pennsylvanian pop-punk outfit Title Fight certainly have set themselves a precedent. 2009’s The Last Thing You Forget compilation was a master class in how to create abrasive pop-punk with a strong sense of emotional depth and engagement. Tracks such as “Loud And Clear” showcased Title Fight’s ability to balance elements of viscera and longing in equal measure. The same sort of sentiments were carried through onto Title Fight’s first full-length, 2011’s Shed, with the title track in particular expressing the same strength in composing tracks of this nature.
However, 2012’s Floral Green marked a distinctive change in Title Fight’s sound. Not big enough to perturb too many fans, but one which nevertheless marked an important difference. Tracks such as “Like A Ritual” and the expansive, atmospheric “Head In The Ceiling Fan” reflected a move into territory more at home with grunge and shoegaze. The trick was in making it appear seamless, a feat which Title Fight achieved with seemingly little effort, thus making the progression all the more impressive.
And so this leaves us with “Chlorine,” the first track from the forthcoming album Hyperview, and one which seems to suggest the album will be continuing along a similar trajectory as Floral Green, though with more refinement and an extra emphasis on the engulfing aesthetic which had become more pronounced on that album. As striking and disorientating as its video, the track boasts an impressive mash of distortion and distant vocals in what represents perfectly the direction Title Fight have been going in. The sharp, cutting lead guitar lines are still there, but it is the composed haze which ultimately marks “Chlorine” as not only a great track on its own terms, but a success for Title Fight in general. February 3rd , the release date for Hyperview cannot come soon enough.
Track listing for Hyperview;
“Murder Your Memory”
“Chlorine”
“Hypernight”
“Mrahc”
“Your Pain Is Mine Now”
“Rose Of Sharon”
“Trace Me Onto You”
“Liar’s Love”
“Dizzy”
“New Vision”