Deer Tick - War Elephant
“I like all music… But country.”
You’ve heard it. Meeting that new girl, maybe.
“What kind of music do you like?” you ask.
“All music but country,” she replies, and giggles. Maybe your friends say it. Maybe you say it. All music but country. Pop. Opera. Throat singing. Noise rock. Avant-garde radio warbles. But not country. Well, none of you can say it any more. Deer Tick has dropped 14 tracks of whoop-ass on country-haters everywhere, an incredible hammer of reclamation smashing downward on a genre now known for NASCAR, trucks and cowboy hats. Singer/songwriter John McCauley must have smoked Marlboro a new corporate headquarters to get his voice to the perfect level of grit that gives such life to his songs of betrayed love, stymied love, unrequited love, love, man, love, and plenty of it. Underneath, the music is powered by guitar, drums, and whatever else, a living, kicking muscle.
Grade: B+
-Graham Trail