Over the span of Title Fight’s career, the band has been many things – hardworking, creative, and true to themselves – but never lazy. Thus is a trend that continues to spill over throughout the band’s third LP, Hyperview. Hyperview extends the band’s vision of dreamy, underwater guitars once only hinted at in songs like “Head in the Ceiling Fan” and “In-Between.” While the album does face its fair share of growing pains that accompany venturing into any genre for the first time, Title Fight confidently provides us with 10 songs that leave us with no second guesses about the kind of artists they strive to be.
“Murder Your Memory” is a slow, introductory track that permanently cuts the chord between today’s Title Fight and the band that released Shed back in 2011. The song is repetitive and meandering in the best possible way, tossing us headfirst into the album’s reverb-drenched lead single, “Chlorine.” With swirling guitars and vocals acting as their own instrument, “Chlorine” sets the proper tone for the rest of Hyperview.
The album is partially split between faster cuts and deeper, prettier moments, but not so much as the band’s masterful Floral Green was. Here, the lines are blurred and everything is grey, making for an incredibly cohesive (but at times frustratingly monotone) sound. While songs like “Hypernight” and “Liar’s Love” mostly sink in back into the mix, Hyperview’s high points are among some of the highest in the band’s career. “Mrahc” is quick-paced and memorable, and probably the closest thing next to “Rose of Sharon” that calls back to any of the band’s previous material. “Your Pain Is Mine Now” is absolutely gorgeous as the album’s emotional centerpiece, standing above the rest with a Morrissey-like vocal delivery. The vocals throughout Hyperview are pushed back in the mix, so much so that most are unintelligible without having the lyrics in front of you. This leaves the listener to judge the vocal tones of the album (alongside the production) from a purely subjective standpoint.
Hyperview is not a record for everyone, and even for fans of Title Fight or influencers like Hum, it has its fair share of ups and downs. But by the end of the album’s short and sweet 31-minute runtime, it’s hard not to want to immediately revisit and pick apart the band’s undeniable growth and progression. If this is the newfound sound of a band’s first full step into the world of shoegaze, only time will tell how long will pass before Title Fight strikes gold again.