Shed

The sophomore album from acclaimed and beloved band, Title Fight, Shed is an album packed with some of Punk and Emo’s most energetic songs with brief moments of slower songs for reflection. The band’s unique sound, a blend between both Midwest Emo, Emo, and Hardcore Punk, is on full display on this album. As mentioned prior every song is fast paced with screaming, melodic vocals and anthemic guitar riffs. There is no fat on this album with every song delivering a gut-punch either sonically or lyrically. Coming in at around twenty-seven minutes in length with twelve songs to perform, the band keeps it short and sweet.

There is a break in the album around the seventh and eighth, “Safe In Your Skin,” and “Where Am I?” tracks where we get clean vocals mixed with slower tempos, which, though slows the album down, is a nice contrast against the otherwise straight Punk album. GMT, the closing track, also is another mid-tempo song that finishes the album off on a strong and introspective note.

The lyrics cut deep in this album, reflecting the Emo influence on the band; songs about insecurity, death, and longing among other sibling topics sung with such power that each word is a scream caused by numerous breaking points felt by every human being. The songs on this album beg to be blasted through your headphones/car speakers. Songs like “27” or “You Can’t Say Kingston Doesn’t Love You,” are perfect examples of the lyrics, their weight and meaning, matching the Screamo vocal style with melody added to pull at your heart strings, whereas, “Shed,” and “ our Screen Door,” provide big, bombastic drums and huge guitar riffs that prove the band’s songwriting ability.

Coming off the heel of their first album, The Last Thing You Forget, just two years prior to
Shed’s release, sees the band’s production both in songwriting and recording increase ten-fold, though the passion and the promise was always there. The band shifted into more of a focused sound on Shed compared to T.L.T.Y .F and would push their sound further on their subsequent albums, but in my opinion, Shed is a masterclass in Hardcore Emo and Punk.

This album is a must-listen for any listener who wishes to explore the harsher sounds of
Hardcore, Punk, and Emo. This album is completely composed of hard hitting tracks that contain deeply emotional lyrics, anthemic guitar riffs, and a mix of slower songs that make you appreciate the words sung even more–this album is a no-skip album.