Did y’all ever get around to reading Michael Tedder’s profile of Titus Andronicus leader Patrick Stickles? It’s still my favorite thing we’ve published here this year. It begins like so: “Spend any amount of time with Patrick Stickles, and you will often feel like you are in a movie where the voice-over narration, provided by Patrick Stickles, and the commentary track, also provided by Patrick Stickles, are playing at the same time.” From there unfolds an extremely evocative and entertaining character sketch. The viral short story “Cat Person” comes up. I highly recommend it.

Now that that’s out of the way, some news:

A Productive Cough is already a relatively stripped-down Titus Andronicus release, scaling back Stickles’ rock-opera grandiosity to bar-band status. But the album is still plenty loud, embracing a classic-rock ramble. Those seeking truly minimalist Titus Andronicus experience ought to direct their attention to the latest installment in the band’s mixtape series. Dubbed A Reductive Scoff, it collects a number of demos and outtakes from the A Productive Cough sessions, the type of recordings you might find on the second disc of a deluxe reissue.

If the new mixtape represents a paring down, the group’s new tour dates find them ramping back up toward cacophony. Stickles originally toured behind A Productive Cough backed only by a pianist, but the newly announced “American Rock Band Tour” finds him back in the popular guitar-guitar-drums-bass configuration. Some of the dates also feature Ted Leo, who was the subject of an even better Michael Tedder feature on this website last year. Stickles still has a few of the so-called “acoustic” shows to finish up first. Check out their full itinerary below, where you can also stream the new mixtape.

TOUR DATES:
08/30 Glasgow, UK @ CCA ^
08/31 Newcastle upon Tyne, UK @ Head of Steam ^
09/01 Nottingham, UK @ Bodega ^
09/02 Wiltshire, UK @ End of the Road Festival ^
09/03 Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen ^
09/04 Leeds, UK @ Belgrave Music Hall ^
09/06 London, UK @ St. Pancras Old Church ^ [SOLD OUT]
09/07 London, UK @ St. Pancras Old Church ^ [SOLD OUT]
09/09 Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s
09/10 Derry, IE @ Bennigans Bar
09/11 Limerick City, IE @ Phamacia
10/12 Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
10/13 Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street
10/14 Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall
10/15 Pittsburgh, PA @ Cattivo
10/16 Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
10/17 Columbus, OH @ Skully’s Music Diner
10/18 Bloomington, IL @ The Bishop
10/19 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge *
10/20 Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel *
10/22 Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck *
10/23 St Louis, MO @ Off Broadway *
10/24 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone Cafe
10/25 Nashville, TN @ Basement East *
10/26 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell) *
10/27 Durham, NC @ Motorco *
10/28 Richmond, VA @ Capital Ale House *
10/30 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
11/01 Asbury Park, NJ @ House of Independents
11/02 Jersey City, NJ @ Monty Hall
11/03 Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel
^ “acoustic” show
* w/ Ted Leo solo