Deer Tick leeched on to me from the first time I heard The Black Dirt Sessions. John McCauley’s music does to me what no other musician can do. His raspy, imperfect, atypical voice – combined with the soothing sound of whatever instrument is currently involved (guitar, piano, saxophone, drums) – flaunts an innocent beauty that my ears, mind, and heart have never sensed. McCauley is not only the dictator of my emotions. He is also the leading guitarist, the singer, and songwriter for Deer Tick, a potently soulful group from Providence, Rhode Island.
By the age of 19, McCauley had already taken his solo-project tour around the United States. Band members would come and go for him from 2004 to 2007, but it was not until then that Christopher Ryan, Dennis Ryan, Ian O’Neill, and Rob Crowell had officially joined the crew. As a band, Deer Tick has produced three EPs as well as four diverse albums: War Elephant (2007), Born on Flag Day (2009), The Black Dirt Sessions (2010), and last month’s Divine Providence. After hours and hours of debate, the Jonk Music executives decided the best song on Divine Providence is “Main Street.”
“Main Street” is different, you see. It is aggressive. It is undemanding. It is an alternative-country jam that kicks you in the gut with a Tempur-Pedic® slipper. How did I react? I felt a new side of Deer Tick that makes me like them even more. My soft side loves a melodious, soulful tune while my badass side craves passionate angst, and “Main Street” provides me with a perfect middle ground. I believe it will do the same to you.
So allow Deer Tick to latch on to you. The sound may pinch your taste at first, but in time the band will grow on you. And then it will poison your blood with such an intoxicating warmth that you will not be able to let go of your headphones. Buena suerte.