Titus Andronicus

It's not as if Titus Andronicus (joined on this bill by the So So Glos, Raleigh and Accordion Crimes) had dozens of members. The band's latest album, The Airing of Grievances, features just four regulars: Liam Betson, Ian Graetzer, Eric Harm and Patrick Stickles. Somehow, though, the quartet combines to make a big noise whether the arrangements are sonically wide-ranging, like "Joset of Nazareth's Blues," or indie-rock primitive, à la "My Time Outside the Womb." Even if these guys weren't proud dwellers of the Garden State, cuts such as "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ" would likely draw comparisons to a certain classic-rocker known for prowling Asbury Park. But such influences don't come across as academic, thanks to performances that generate plenty of punk-informed mega-wattage: Take "Albert Camus," in which the boys distill the essence of existentialism down to the line "We don't give a fuck about nothing." They're lying, but if Camus doesn't mind, why should you?