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My roommate silently stalked over to my computer and asked what I was listening to.

“The new Title Tracks single,” I replied. Looking over my shoulder at the four or five possible concepts I had sprawled out on a sheet of printer paper, he asked if I was writing about this song. “Yes,” I said, trying to quiet his apparent suspicion. He began to chuckle as he stared at my notes. I asked him what he’s laughing at, to which he responded: “Nolan, it’s a freaking pop song.  Quit analyzing it like one of your David Byrne albums or something.”

He probably walked off mumbling something about a punk band, but I wasn’t listening. He was right about one thing there: Title Tracks (and their debut single, Every Little Bit Hurts) does not attempt to revitalize pop music.  In fact, I think it’s safe to say Title Tracks do nothing but add to the already-crowded guitar pop genre.

That being said, “Found Out,” the better half of Every Little Bit Hurts, shows a lot of promise from these DC indie-poppers. It stars some extra-tense guitars working like a loaded spring, only gaining a moment’s rest during the pop-standard chorus.

The sugar-soaked tune (clocking in at a whopping 2:35) is just long enough to allow a fair amount of familiarity, but somehow feels like it could still use some trimming. The first verse introduces itself like a walk through an uncomfortable neighborhood at 3AM, and before you know any better, it transforms itself into a liberating power-chorded refrain.  It just gets a little irritating when you hear the same chorus for the third time in less than three minutes, almost as if you know they simply decided to throw in the once-delightful bit wherever they could.

Title Tracks seem to have this issue all over their single. While each individual piece of any given song is strong, their copy/paste outlook ruins much of the enjoyability that may have been possible. If they clean up their song structure a little bit, I’ll be looking forward to see what these guys do with an album.

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