Deer Tick
(Partisan)
Despite hitting most of its twang-rock marks, the second full-length from this Providence, R.I. buzz-band still comes across like Epcot Center Americana, full of all-too-predictable motifs and wall-to-wall narrative clichés. All the usual suspects are here for roll call, of course: The Johnny Cash train shuffle ("Friday XIII"), the Uncle Tupelo road warrior dirge ("Smith Hill"), the Chuck Berry-via-Jason & the Scorchers rave-up ("Straight Into a Storm"), and the weepy drunk Gram Parsons ballad ("The Ghost"). True, you'll find most of those templates in transcendent country rock, which only proves the line between aphorism and platitude is a deal-breaker.
he ponderously titled "Song About a Man" finds singer/songwriter John McCauley conflating hangovers and drunken flings with existential angst and heartache ("I drank away all the things I could provide"), but pick a random line from any song and more often than not it reads overwrought. There may be promise here, but like young McCauley's strained vocal delivery, Deer Tick is trying too hard to prove what only works when it comes naturally.
Standout Track: "Easy" JOHN SCHACHT
