DEER TICK
Caitlin Rose
Squarehead
Whelan’s, Sunday, Oct 03, 8pm
Tickets: WAV [Lo-Call 1890 200 078], www.tickets.ie, City Discs & Ticketmaster outlets nationwide
“Deer Tick's front man, John McCauley, got an early start as a teenage singer-songwriter in Providence, a scene known for genre-busting noise music. But it's country rock he's plowed his old soul into, and on his band's flat-out great forthcoming album, The Black Dirt Sessions, you hear not just heartbreak ("Christ Jesus" alone constitutes an album's worth) but a hint of the tumbling-down noise of his hometown's sound - much of it in his aching, ripped-to-shreds voice. Live, the band delivers hellfire." - New York Magazine
“…like hardened pioneers, with cutting twang, bull fiddle and the junior-John Prine growl of singer-guitarist John Joseph McCauley III.” – Rolling Stone
“So much so-called Americana, be it from Nashville or beyond, is cosy, picket fence-pretty or unbearably trite. Deer Tick are none of those: kids barely into their twenties, their notion of country starts at Hank Williams, disappears into the raw thump of 80s underdogs The Meat Puppets and Green On Red, then re-emerges via the crotchety folk of The Felice Brothers.” – UNCUT ****
“They look like children but play like old men who have been doing this their whole lives.” – Ex-Drive by Truckers guitarist Jason Isbell
"The songs are better, too. So good, in fact, they can make you punch the air or pin you to your seat. A giant leap forward." - The Independent
Recorded late last year at Black Dirt Studios in upstate New York, Deer Tick’s latest album The Black Dirt Sessions is a deeply personal record from Deer Tick and most especially from lead vocalist and songwriter John McCauley. It is the sound of a band coming into its own, finding its voice and pouring its collective heart out. The comparisons that have often been thrust upon McCauley by the press seem to fall away as his own voice comes through more clearly. The Black Dirt version of "Christ Jesus," which also appeared on 2007’s War Elephant, manages to be even more devastating than the original.
Clearly, the band is exploring some darker material here than they've touched on in the past, and it suits them. Even as the Deer Tick live show has become legendary for its raucous, spontaneous moments, this record serves as proof of the band's incredible musicianship, cohesive nature and most importantly gives us a chance to witness McCauley becoming a fully formed, mature songwriter right in front of our eyes.
Deer Tick has had an incredible couple of years. Early in 2009 the band had the unlikely support of NBC Nightly News' Brian Williams, who has become one of the leading champions of Deer Tick via his BriTunes music site, alongside critics like David Fricke and Greil Marcus. The band was praised in just about every major music publication, with Rolling Stone going so far as to name them "the country-rock breakthrough of the year." In their hometown of Providence, RI the band has gone beyond hometown hero status to hometown obsession. Deer Tick also became a steady favorite for many of our men and women in uniform, performing for Pentagon TV several times.
The band have played at festivals like Austin City Limits, Newport Folk Festival, Joshua Tree Music Fest, Monolith, Philadelphia Folk Festival, and Coachella, played Brooklyn's Prospect Park and this year will make their debut appearance at Lollapalooza. They've toured with Dr. Dog, Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, Jason Isbell, The Felice Brothers as well as pals like Those Darlins and Dawes. A documentary film about the band, City of Sin, was also completed last year and should see the light of day in 2010. The band also recently contributed the track "Unwed Fathers" to Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine alongside My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, The Avett Brothers, etc.
New MP3 Piece By Piece, Frame by Frame here: www.forcefieldpr.com/deertickpiece.mp3
Daydreaming MG&V song performed by John McCauley with Mountain Man: www.vimeo.com/14123504
www.partisanrecords.com
www.deertickmusic.com
www.myspace.com/deertick
Caitlin Rose: Nashville's Caitlin Rose tells stories of an evolving country. She speaks in a new generation of American twang and "Im-a-gonnas" about another generation of young American alcoholics falling in love at backyard weddings. The stories are old themes voiced with a new ease and energetic pace. They're fearlessly grainy in the same way that the black and white photographs of the 1970s differ from those in the 1950s. In the way that writing about evolution is no longer about getting richer, sleeker, or more efficient. Hers are evolutionary stories in surprising but truthful directions, where sometimes dead flowers mean so much more than live ones. It's the sound of a future grown out of the past, but not out of its expectations. www.myspace.com/caitlinrosesongs
Q Magazine - 4 Stars 'Lovely Stuff'
The Guardian - 4 Stars 'Major Star Alert'
Uncut - 4 Stars 'Scarcely Puts a Foot Wrong'
The Sunday Times - 4 Stars 'Album of The Week'
The Observer - 4 Stars
Rough trade Shops 'Album of The Week'
Squarehead: Squarehead is a Dublin garage-pop band featuring Roy Duffy and friends. Their debut release, Fake Blood seven inch on the Any Other City label, indicates a knack for brilliant pop songwriting. Think the pop spirit of Kurt Cobain or the unpretentious romance of the doo-wop era. Also affiliated with the Popical Island collective.
www.myspace.com/squareheadmusic
Caitlin Rose
Squarehead
Whelan’s, Sunday, Oct 03, 8pm
Tickets: WAV [Lo-Call 1890 200 078], www.tickets.ie, City Discs & Ticketmaster outlets nationwide
“Deer Tick's front man, John McCauley, got an early start as a teenage singer-songwriter in Providence, a scene known for genre-busting noise music. But it's country rock he's plowed his old soul into, and on his band's flat-out great forthcoming album, The Black Dirt Sessions, you hear not just heartbreak ("Christ Jesus" alone constitutes an album's worth) but a hint of the tumbling-down noise of his hometown's sound - much of it in his aching, ripped-to-shreds voice. Live, the band delivers hellfire." - New York Magazine
“…like hardened pioneers, with cutting twang, bull fiddle and the junior-John Prine growl of singer-guitarist John Joseph McCauley III.” – Rolling Stone
“So much so-called Americana, be it from Nashville or beyond, is cosy, picket fence-pretty or unbearably trite. Deer Tick are none of those: kids barely into their twenties, their notion of country starts at Hank Williams, disappears into the raw thump of 80s underdogs The Meat Puppets and Green On Red, then re-emerges via the crotchety folk of The Felice Brothers.” – UNCUT ****
“They look like children but play like old men who have been doing this their whole lives.” – Ex-Drive by Truckers guitarist Jason Isbell
"The songs are better, too. So good, in fact, they can make you punch the air or pin you to your seat. A giant leap forward." - The Independent
Recorded late last year at Black Dirt Studios in upstate New York, Deer Tick’s latest album The Black Dirt Sessions is a deeply personal record from Deer Tick and most especially from lead vocalist and songwriter John McCauley. It is the sound of a band coming into its own, finding its voice and pouring its collective heart out. The comparisons that have often been thrust upon McCauley by the press seem to fall away as his own voice comes through more clearly. The Black Dirt version of "Christ Jesus," which also appeared on 2007’s War Elephant, manages to be even more devastating than the original.
Clearly, the band is exploring some darker material here than they've touched on in the past, and it suits them. Even as the Deer Tick live show has become legendary for its raucous, spontaneous moments, this record serves as proof of the band's incredible musicianship, cohesive nature and most importantly gives us a chance to witness McCauley becoming a fully formed, mature songwriter right in front of our eyes.
Deer Tick has had an incredible couple of years. Early in 2009 the band had the unlikely support of NBC Nightly News' Brian Williams, who has become one of the leading champions of Deer Tick via his BriTunes music site, alongside critics like David Fricke and Greil Marcus. The band was praised in just about every major music publication, with Rolling Stone going so far as to name them "the country-rock breakthrough of the year." In their hometown of Providence, RI the band has gone beyond hometown hero status to hometown obsession. Deer Tick also became a steady favorite for many of our men and women in uniform, performing for Pentagon TV several times.
The band have played at festivals like Austin City Limits, Newport Folk Festival, Joshua Tree Music Fest, Monolith, Philadelphia Folk Festival, and Coachella, played Brooklyn's Prospect Park and this year will make their debut appearance at Lollapalooza. They've toured with Dr. Dog, Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, Jason Isbell, The Felice Brothers as well as pals like Those Darlins and Dawes. A documentary film about the band, City of Sin, was also completed last year and should see the light of day in 2010. The band also recently contributed the track "Unwed Fathers" to Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine alongside My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, The Avett Brothers, etc.
New MP3 Piece By Piece, Frame by Frame here: www.forcefieldpr.com/deertickpiece.mp3
Daydreaming MG&V song performed by John McCauley with Mountain Man: www.vimeo.com/14123504
www.partisanrecords.com
www.deertickmusic.com
www.myspace.com/deertick
Caitlin Rose: Nashville's Caitlin Rose tells stories of an evolving country. She speaks in a new generation of American twang and "Im-a-gonnas" about another generation of young American alcoholics falling in love at backyard weddings. The stories are old themes voiced with a new ease and energetic pace. They're fearlessly grainy in the same way that the black and white photographs of the 1970s differ from those in the 1950s. In the way that writing about evolution is no longer about getting richer, sleeker, or more efficient. Hers are evolutionary stories in surprising but truthful directions, where sometimes dead flowers mean so much more than live ones. It's the sound of a future grown out of the past, but not out of its expectations. www.myspace.com/caitlinrosesongs
Q Magazine - 4 Stars 'Lovely Stuff'
The Guardian - 4 Stars 'Major Star Alert'
Uncut - 4 Stars 'Scarcely Puts a Foot Wrong'
The Sunday Times - 4 Stars 'Album of The Week'
The Observer - 4 Stars
Rough trade Shops 'Album of The Week'
Squarehead: Squarehead is a Dublin garage-pop band featuring Roy Duffy and friends. Their debut release, Fake Blood seven inch on the Any Other City label, indicates a knack for brilliant pop songwriting. Think the pop spirit of Kurt Cobain or the unpretentious romance of the doo-wop era. Also affiliated with the Popical Island collective.
www.myspace.com/squareheadmusic
