Title Fight

Title Fight is an American rock band from Kingston, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. They released three studio albums —Shed (2011), Floral Green (2012), and Hyperview (2015) — gradually shifting from a hardcore punk–oriented sound towards shoegaze and indie rock. Hyperview was released through Anti-, a record label which the band signed to in July 2014.
The band has been inactive since 2018. Vocalist Ned Russin said in 2023, "There is a chance that any band will play again, no matter what."
Title Fight formed in 2003 as a three-piece band consisting of Jamie Rhoden on guitar and vocals, Ned Russin on bass and Ned's twin brother Ben on drums, playing local shows in Kingston and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Ned Russin claims his older brother, Alex Russin, is a huge influence in their formation of Title Fight. Their name came from the cover of an old HBO showtime guide that Ned had read in the attic when he was younger. In addition to popular punk bands, Rhoden claims the Positive Numbers Fest, an annual hardcore/punk music festival in Wilkes-Barre, was an influence on the band's formation. The band produced a demo titled "Down for the Count" in 2003 that is still available on the internet.
In 2005, the band added Shane Moran on second guitar and recorded two demos in 2005 and 2006, during which they played shows in what they call a "small, tight-knit community" around Kingston, Pennsylvania. These included several shows at the Doylestown, Pennsylvania, YMCA Teen Center.
They recorded a split with the Erection Kids in 2007 on FlightPlan Records. Members of the Erection Kids later went on to form Balance and Composure. The band quickly followed up their first release with the Kingston 7" (also on FlightPlan Records) in February 2008. Title Fight played with Fireworks on their tour with Set Your Goals in the summer of 2007, ultimately leading to their discovery by Jeff Casazza, the owner of Run for Cover Records; on October 16, 2008, it was announced that the band had signed to the record label. The band recorded a 7", The Last Thing You Forget, in December 2008 at the Getaway Group in Massachusetts with Jay Maas. It was released in June 2009 on Run for Cover Records and featured three new songs, while the CD version of the release featured all their releases to date. The artwork for the album was done by John Slaby, a friend from Wilkes-Barre. Later in June, the band went on tour with Crime in Stereo and Fireworks, followed by a US tour with New Found Glory. The Kingston EP has also been re-released on Six Feet Under Records with Dave Sausage in order to revamp the EP. During these years, Title Fight altered their sound to a more melodic hardcore–oriented style, with influences such as Jawbreaker, Seaweed, Lifetime, Knapsack, and the Promise Ring.
In 2010, Title Fight was featured on the Triple B Records compilation America's Hardcore with a song titled "Dreamcatchers". They also toured the US with Bayside, Senses Fail, and Balance and Composure, as well as Japan with H2O.
On January 19, 2011, Title Fight signed to SideOneDummy Records and announced they had finished recording their debut full-length album, Shed, which was produced by Walter Schreifels (Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, and Rival Schools) and engineered by Will Yip at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The band also embarked on their first headline tour in 2011 with the Menzingers, Touché Amoré, Dead End Path, and Shook Ones.
The band released their new album, Shed, on May 3, 2011. In addition to the Shed album artwork, the album's lead single, "27", was released as a free download on February 10. On February 23, SideOneDummy Records opened preorders for a new 7" titled "Flood of '72", the album's second single; it was released on April 12 and included an acoustic version of the song.
Title Fight toured Australia for the first time in September 2011 alongside Touché Amoré, followed by a 22-date European tour in November and December. The band also played both dates of Reading and Leeds Festival earlier in the year.
Title Fight supported Rise Against on the second leg of their 2012 Endgame Tour, followed by an appearance on the Vans Warped Tour. Around these two tours was when the band had started workshopping ideas for their following album.
Title Fight announced via Tumblr in July 2012 that their next album, Floral Green, would come out on September 18, and its lead single "Head in the Ceiling Fan", was released as a free download. On August 14, the band premiered another song, "Sympathy", on NPR Music's All Songs Considered program. On September 13, 2012, SPIN premiered a full stream of the record on their website. Floral Green debuted at #69 on the Billboard 200. On October 19, 2012, Title Fight hosted a record release show in Warrior Run, Pennsylvania, along with the Menzingers, Tigers Jaw, Gypsy, and Grey Zine prior to headlining a US tour with supporting acts Tigers Jaw, Pianos Become the Teeth, Whirr, Young Beats, and Single Mothers.
Title Fight released the four-song EP Spring Songs on November 12, 2013, through Revelation Records, with its second track, "Be a Toy", premiering on August 12 via SPIN. The music video for the track—directed by Suzy Cereijo and filmed on a Super 8 during the band's 2013 Spring European Tour—was released on November 20, 2013.
In July 2014, the band announced on their Instagram account that they had signed to ANTI- and were in the process of recording a new album with producer Will Yip. On December 1, the band announced that their new album would be called Hyperview and was set to be released on February 3, 2015; a music video for the album's lead single, "Chlorine", was released via The Fader the same day.
Title Fight stopped touring by 2016, only playing a few select shows that year and 2017. While headlining Outbreak Festival in the UK on April 29, 2017 – in what would end up being the band's second-to-last show before going inactive – vocalist Ned Russin said, "If this is it, it’s been a wild and beautiful ride. Thank you so much. We’re Title Fight. See you on the other side."
The band's final show was a benefit concert for their friend Aaron Warman, held on January 26, 2018 at the Revolution Bar & Music Hall in Amityville, New York, with Turnstile opening.
During the hiatus, Title Fight's social media accounts occasionally post updates with information regarding merchandise and the members' other projects. In September 2023, the band announced that some members started a record label, Purple Circle, to repress Kingston. Ned Russin also said about Title Fight's inactivity, "we've never said 'hiatus,' we've never said 'broken up,' ... 'the big breakup' is just something I do not care to be a part of, but it’s also something that doesn’t really exist anymore. There is a chance that any band will play again, no matter what."
Title Fight's style has been described as post-hardcore, hardcore punk, melodic hardcore, punk rock, shoegaze, soft grunge, and post-rock. Formed as a hardcore band, they soon began to draw influences from a variety of other genres, such as alternative rock, shoegaze, and post-rock. Bassist Ned Russin identified Title Fight musically as hardcore punk in a 2009 interview with PunkNews.org.
The members of Title Fight are also known for their presence in many other Wilkes-Barre hardcore bands—most notably Bad Seed, which featured Shane on vocals and Jamie on bass. Ned later joined the band on bass, while Jamie switched to guitar. Bad Seed released a demo in 2008 and a self-titled EP in 2009 on 6131 Records, and they played Sound and Fury and This Is Hardcore Fest before disbanding in 2010. In addition to Bad Seed, Shane, Ned, and Ben played in the straight-edge band Disengage, which released a seven-song EP, Look Back, in 2010; a full-length album, Expressions, in 2011; and a self-titled EP in 2014. Ned also plays in straight-edge Wilkes-Barre band Stick Together, hardcore band Big Contest, and shoegaze/indie-rock act Noise Pet. Jamie also plays in a shoegaze punk band called Haze, which released a demo of rough mixes in 2014. Ned and Ben are the younger brothers of Alex Russin, guitarist/singer of Gypsy and hardcore band Cold World.
Cafe Metropolis, the venue in Wilkes-Barre where Title Fight played their first show, closed in September 2010. To give back to the rising hardcore community, Title Fight and other local friends took action by opening the venue Redwood Art Space in the city in March 2011; however, the venue was forced into moving in June 2012.
In 2017, Ned Russin started a solo project called Glitterer, which later expanded into a full band in 2023. Ben Russin took over as the drummer for Citizen in 2023.