The Titos

You think you've heard them before, but you haven't. Dubbing their sound “suburban soul,” the Titos positively crackle. They blend the musical traditions of the south — blues, gospel, a little country — with hip-hop cadences and rock-and-roll attitude. Alternatively plaintive and swaggering, their lyrics wrestle with hollowness and heartbreak, violence and unexpected joy. Guitarist and Atlanta native Alex Lotito writes and sings the songs. His vocals are as warm and prickly as bottom-shelf whiskey — and they’ll draw you in just the same.

Lotito returned to Atlanta after two years working in St. Louis and a year in Sicily. Growing up in Atlanta, he played many of Atlanta and Athens’ finest venues before graduating High School: The Variety Playhouse, The 40 Watt, The Five Spot (now Aisle 5), Smith’s, and more. While living away, he spent time crafting songs that he hoped to fit to a band upon return. In late summer of 2017, Lotito linked up with former band mates Zachary Falls (drums) and Ian Mastrogiacomo (bass). Before 2014, the three played together in The Space Time Travelers. Falls, like Lotito, has played Atlanta’s music scene since a young age growing up in the blues circuit backing Chicago Joe Jones. Mastrogiacomo, similarly, has crafted his own sound playing in Atlanta with such acts as Beauregard, the Threadbare Skivvies, and The Space Time Travelers. The band is rounded out with Keyboardist Daniel Kirslis. Daniel also plays in his brother David’s group Cicada Rhythm.

The Titos forthcoming, self-titled EP expresses a wide range of sound in only four songs. The songs, which were mostly tracked live at Standard Electric Studios, demonstrate how tight the four musicians are together and gives a good idea of what to expect at live shows. The Sound Connector described The Titos’ as “ a tight-four-piece arrangement that undulates with organ swells, guitar stabs, and snare shots to create a sound like Ray Lamontange dropping acid on Beale St.” The Titos’ releases can be found at www.thetitos.bandcamp.com or you can find the band on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/The-Titos-813432432168152/.

Press:

http://www.thesoundconnector.com/updates/alex-lotito-fifteen-steps-and-draw

http://www.creativeloafing.com/music/article/20986304/new-music-monday