Title Fight is no stranger to making a complete overhaul of its sound. But you don’t even have to trace their entire catalog—one can immediately hear the difference between their two most recent releases, the by-and-large shoegaze approach of their latest, Hyperview (Anti- Records), and last year’s Spring Songs EP, a perfect four-song endeavor of nonchalant punk. While it’s extreme to say these Pennsylvanians have abandoned their punk roots, Title Fight have mellowed to the point of near comatose on Hyperview. While there has been slight precedents for the sound present here, it isn’t anything with which we’re completely familiar. <i>Hyperview’s</i> deluge of atmospheric reverb and flange effects draw from a similar well as dream-pop artists like Wild Nothing, though a more fitting connection might be to second-wave emo and Sunny Day Real Estate. This influence is especially evident in the washed-out ways of songs like “Your Pain Is Mine Now” and “Murder Your Memory.”

It’s how Title Fight retains an aptitude for punk that makes the band unique. For as spacey as Hyperview is, a tune like “Rose of Sharon” can still strike a chord with fans of, say, Husker Dü. Not to mention, lead rocker “Chlorine” is like some watery (but not watered down) Jawbreaker track. The band, like the influences that continue to comprise its bread and butter, also hit an honest, poignant note, as on “Hypernight,” wherein Jamie Rhoden emotes, “Emotions that I know so well carry me to a place of discontent ungrudgingly.” Title Fight carries on a tradition of punk that aspires for innovation and change. It’s sort of tough to be in a punk band and do that, but Hyperview is a solid stepping stone even if some of its contents could be lost among Title Fight’s otherwise revved-up repertoire.