Deer Tick-5 Disc(MP3@320){19glide58}[H33T]

Artist: Deer Tick
Title: War Elephant
Label: Partisan
Release Date: 2007
Format: MP3 @ 320 K



Barely in his 20s, Deer Tick frontman John McCauley has crafted a record that cannily finds inspiration in the two most bountiful eras of commercial rock that precedes his generation. The raspy grunge of Nirvana permeates tracks like "Art Isn't Real" as steadily as Gram Parsons's contemplative country folk informs "Baltimore Blues No. 1." But WAR ELEPHANT is most thrilling when it gets a bit of stomp ("Standing At The Threshold") that brings to mind Neil Young at his most furious.

Recording information: Yellow House Studio, Baltimore, MD

Track List:
01. Ashamed - (featuring Sine Jensen)
02. Art Isn't Real (City of Sin) - (featuring Sine Jensen)
03. Standing at the Threshold
04. Dirty Dishes
05. Long Time
06. Nevada
07. Baltimore Blues No. 1
08. These Old Shoes - (featuring Nat Baldwin)
09. Not So Dense
10. Spend the Night
11. Diamond Rings 2007
12. Sink or Swim
13. Christ Jesus
14. What Kind of Fool Am I? - (featuring James Falzone/Sine Jensen/Nat Baldwin)

Personnel:
John McCauley - various instruments
Nat Baldwin - double bass


Artist: Deer Tick
Title: Born On Flag Day
Label: Partisan
Release Date: 2009
Format: MP3 @ 320 K



More focused than its predecessor, WAR ELEPHANT, Deer Tick's BORN ON FLAG DAY is comprised of ten songs in the straight-up stylings of indie rock and Americana. Vocalist John Joseph McCauley III's singing is still raspy (like a down-home version of Axl Rose) but here, he and his crew flesh out their woodsy sensibilities with a larger scope. The sound is bigger, and the hooks are more palpable. By sacrificing grit, some of the charm that made the debut a success is lost along the way, but the sleeker production is only a minor setback. Even with a heavy helping of spiteful, desperate lyrics delivered straight from the bottom of the bottle, the sparkling production makes Deer Tick seem like a likely crossover to the mainstream, specifically those who love a more mature, NPR sound.

Recording information: Yellow House Studios, Baltimore, MD

Track list:
01. Easy
02. Little White Lies
03. Smith Hill
04. Song About a Man
05. Houston, TX
06. Straight into a Storm
07. Friday XIII
08. Ghost, The
09. Hell on Earth
10. Stung - (featuring Sine Jensen/Caleb Stine/Liz Isenberg)

Personnel:
John McCauley - vocals, guitar, harmonica, electric piano
Andrew Tobiassen - guitar
Chris Ryan - bass instrument, bass guitar
Dennis Ryan - drums, background vocals
Liz Isenberg - vocals


Artist: Deer Tick
Title: The Black Dirt Sessions
Label: Partisan
Release Date: 2010
Format: MP3 @ 320 K



The Black Dirt Sessions, Deer Tick's third full studio album, combines the easy balladry and boozy rock tunes of the band's prior two releases, but does away with the old-timey blues and country influences. The new sound of the group, which includes new member Ian O' Neil of Titus Andronicus on guitar, is contemporary and sincere. Vocalist John McCauley, the chief songwriter of the group, seems to have found his own distinct voice and is comfortable reeling back and singing quietly, harnessing his muscular, grainy timbre into a sweet instrument. The first half of the album never breaks a sweat, concentrating solely on stripped-down, melancholy ballads. Side two breaks away from the acoustic aspects, and kicks up a laid-back Nashville groove with honky tonk piano, Stonesy guitar riffs, and classic Americana harmonies. McCauley sounds liberated, calling up `70s hooks and harmonies that feel classic without being overtly retro. For The Black Dirt Sessions, the sepia tones are faded and less distracting. Songs written to sound like old pub standards helped to gain the group attention, but these heartfelt tunes gleam with McCauley's individuality. ~ Jason Lymangrover

Recording information: Black Dirt Studios, Westtown, NY.

Track List:
01. Choir of Angels
02. Twenty Miles
03. Goodbye, Dear Friend
04. Piece by Piece and Frame by Frame
05. Sad Sun, The
06. Mange
07. When She Comes Home
08. Hand in My Hand
09. I Will Not Be Myself
10. Blood Moon
11. Christ Jesus

Personnel:
John McCauley - vocals, guitar, harmonica, electric piano
Andrew Tobiassen - guitar
Chris Ryan - bass instrument, bass guitar
Dennis Ryan - drums, background vocals
Ian O' Neil - guitar


Artist: Deer Tick
Title: Holy Shit, It's Christmas! (EP)
Label: Partisan
Release Date: 2010
Format: MP3 @ 320 K



Holiday EP featuring the song “Christmas All Summer Long”, sung by John McCauley and “Holy Shit, It¹s Christmas!” sung by Ian O¹Neil.

Tracklist:
01. Christmas All Summer Long
02. Holy Shit, It’s Christmas!


Artist: Deer Tick
Title: Divine Providence
Label: Partisan
Release Date: 2011
Format: MP3 @ 320 K



The fourth full-length studio album from singer/songwriter John McCauley's ragged, lo-fi, alt-country, indie rock outfit Deer Tick sounds more like the band that occasionally devotes entire sets to Nirvana under the "Deervana" moniker than it does the folksy, garage-bound hybrid of Nebraska-era Springsteen and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers that appeared on earlier albums. Recorded in the band's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, Divine Providence sounds like last call and feels like the morning after, offering up 12 slabs of Stooges and Stones-inspired raw power that celebrate the sweet lows and fleeting highs of being young, numb, and full of rum in a blue-collar town with nothing to lose. Closer in tone to the band's raucous live shows, Deer Tick channel Damaged-era Black Flag on "The Bump" and "Let's All Go to the Bar," mid-period Spoon on "Main Street" and "Make Believe," and a less self-aware, Hold Steady on "Chevy Express" and "Something to Brag About," resulting in their loosest, wildest, and most honest collection of Saturday night/Sunday morning pining/drinking songs to date. ~ James Christopher Monger

Recording information: Machines With Magnets, Pawtucket, RI

Track List:
01. The Bump
02. Funny Word
03. Let's All Go to the Bar
04. Clownin Around
05. Main Street
06. Chevy Express
07. Something to Brag About
08. Walkin Out the Door
09. Make Believe
10. Now It's Your Turn
11. Electric
12. Miss K.

Personnel:
John McCauley, Ian O'Neil - vocals, guitars
Rob Crowell - vocals, saxophone, keyboards
Dennis Ryan - vocals, drums, percussion
Chris Ryan - vocals