The Honorary Title are a bit of an oddity in the college music scene. Wailing adolescent love songs over undistorted guitar chords, the Brooklyn-based musicians’ flippant hair cuts and good-boy looks only further the impression that they belong on your 14-year-old sister’s iPod. The thrift-store chic of guitarist/vocalist Josh Gorbel and drummer/vocalist Adam Boyd suit them better for a guest appearance on ‘One Tree Hill’ than they do than at the Loft ‘mdash; full sleeves with an indie-Ken aesthetic.
But to superficially dismiss the duo is a disservice to their musical acuity. It’s not quite arena rock ‘mdash; no soaring refrains, nothing that’ll make you scream nonsensical lyrics along with your speakers ‘mdash; but Gorbel’s range, complemented by unshakable sincerity, is compelling enough to command Price Center East for a few short sweet ones. There are moments on their sophomore album, Scream and Light Up the Sky, that recall the Killers, but despite Gorbel’s strained and stately cries about suburbia and teenage love, the Title never quite reach the grandeur or production value demanded by an egomaniac like Brandon Flowers. There are even a few riffs that seem, unexpectedly, inspired by Johnny Cash ‘mdash; if Cash penned empty threats about breaking up with his unresponsive girlfriend (‘If you don’t pick up the phone/ You will regret it/ I’ve said it before/ But this time I mean it’) instead of, well, shooting men in Reno just to watch them die.
The band’s youth lends an eager anticipation to their music, an upbeat optimism that you might have been missing since your Spice Girls days. Flushed with hope and idealism, lost in a music scene constantly pushing electro-experimentalism, it’s a welcome (if unexpected) reminder of feel-good guitar pop’s many virtues. The Honorary Title aren’t edgy or trendy, and they certainly won’t be showing up on the pages of Pitchfork or the Hype Machine anytime soon. But what they do attempt ‘mdash; unashamed indie rock guided by achingly earnest vocals ‘mdash; they clearly achieve, with the simple acoustic strings of a songwriter undistracted by the world-weary posturing of outside music buffs. If nothing else, their honesty is worth a detour from Burger King.
The Honorary Title will play at the Loft on Saturday, Jan. 24. Doors open at 8 p.m.