hearsay

Deer Tick is the folksy music project of John McCauley, a guy from Providence, Rhode Island. Deer Tick is also a pretty difficult band to search for on the internets, and one that usually results in pictures of little spider looking things that want nothing more than to nibble on you. I have thrice mistakenly referred to Deer Tick as ‘Deerhoof,’ and only twice corrected myself. I’m not an especially big Deerhoof fan. I am a Deer Tick fan. But I still don’t like deer ticks.

So, the obligatory comparisons for today will be Bob Dylan, Paul Westerberg, and even Kurt Cobain (I don’t use those names lightly). But even if you don’t like any of them, you will probably still love “Art Isn’t Real” because it is bananas like my weekday breakfasts. The song has a comfortable, familiar pace to it; anchored by John’s vocals which meander through the straightforward melody, while seeming to land at the same note at the end of each line. The drums are what make it, though. It will bounce around inside your head until it has dented you enough to settle in nicely.

As much as I like that track, “Ashamed” is the song that really has me sold on Deerhoof Deer Tick. I probably should own up to being a sucker for this technique of fast single note-plucked guitar melodies. And I love the way the lyrics charge at you right out of the gate:

I am the boy your mother wanted you to meet
But I am broken and torn with halos at my feet
And with your purest light why don’t you shine on me
Oh, I should have been an angel, but I’m too dumb to speak

Both tracks will open his upcoming album, War Elephant on September 4th. Look for the record with the elephant on the cover. I can’t wait to hear how the mastered versions work with his raspy vocals.

: Deer Tick - Ashamed (demo) :
: Deet Tick - Art Isn’t Real (City Of Sin) :