“Floral Green” by Title Fight celebrates its 10 year anniversary this year, while still being just as relevant as it was at its release.

The album created a unique combination of heavy, distorted guitars and a driving rhythm, with beautiful melodies and passionate lyrics, making it one of my all time favorite albums. 

Title Fight was a punk band, but their sound took influence from hardcore punk, melodic hardcore, midwest emo, shoegaze and post-rock. They formed in Kingston, Pennsylvania in 2003 by singer/guitarist Jamie Rhoden, singer/bassist Ned Russin and his twin brother, Ben, on drums when they were 13 years-old. Guitarist Shane Moran later joined in 2005. 

They released three studio albums, “Shed” in 2011, “Floral Green” in 2012 and “Hyperview” in 2015. Along with the albums, they made an EP, and a compilation, “Spring Songs” in 2013, and “The Last Thing You Forget” in 2009, before breaking up in 2018. 

Though they broke up, they left a huge mark in the DIY (do it yourself) emo, and punk scene. Many emo/punk bands today are influenced by Title Fight, like Remo Drive, Turnstile, Basement, and countless more.

“Floral Green” is an album with eleven songs that lasts around thirty two minutes. The lyrics are straight to the point and display the members’ emotions perfectly while also feeling very relatable.

The album opens with the heavy song, “Numb but I still feel it,” and Ned Russin’s lyrics and rough singing style serve as a perfect introduction. Some notable lines are, “I wish I could get over this feeling of slipping under, but I never get that far,” “Everything’s so uncertain, can’t find the right direction,” and the chorus, “Every night I lie asleep, trying to wake up from this dream.” This song does a great job of putting the listener in Ned’s shoes. 

In the second track, “Leaf,” Ned sings about not being able to express emotions and feeling insignificant, as he stays inside and isolates himself. He sings, “Pull down the shades, rather stay inside all day. My own thoughts are in my way, rather sleep than have to stay,” and, “I feel scared of knowing, I’m just a single leaf in the wind blowing,” as the song cycles from palm muted verses and loud chords and drums in the chorus. 

Jamie Rhoden’s lyrical style is slightly different, which is apparent on the fifth track, “Head in the ceiling fan,” which is my favorite Title Fight song. Jamie talks about an unhealthy relationship where he blindly does anything for this person out of admiration and he sings, “Glued my green eyes to your face, I’m blind. Follow footsteps, a bleeding bloodline.”

“Head in the ceiling fan,” is more notable for its incredible sound. The opening guitar riff is pretty and calm, and when the song kicks in, Title Fight’s shoegaze influence really shines. There’s loud distortion and reverb, but also that same pretty guitar riff playing.

The last two songs, “Lefty,” and “In Between,” are stylistically different from the rest of the album, feeling more indie than punk rock and making for a mellow end to the album.

“Floral Green” by Title Fight is perfect, but unfortunately the band hasn’t become as popular as some other bands in the emo scene like Modern Baseball or The Front Bottoms. However, their impact in the diy emo scene will last forever, and with the rise of emo influenced music today, I think many new people would enjoy this album.