Partisan Records
2007
War Elephant
About This Album
John McCauley, aka Deer Tick, has been on a non-stop tour since graduating from high school in 2004. He often performs without amplification, delivering tunes with just his voice and guitar, an experience that gives his vocals the primal power of a turn of the (last) century mountain balladeer. McCauley's a singer/songwriter with finely crafted literary lyrics married to folkie melodies that sport influences from rock, blues, country, and pop, as evidenced by his cover of Anthony Newley's "What Kind of Fool Am I?." McCauley transforms the tune into a country waltz, straining to reach the high notes, replacing Newley's measured regret with desperation and agony, although the mood is broken by a goofy, loping instrumental bridge just before the last two verses. The rest of the album, originals penned by McCauley, is more straightforward -- tunes about lost love, loneliness, and heartache delivered simply, highlighting McCauley's emotionally charged, unadorned vocals. "Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)" is a country song that balances a playful backing track with a lyric full of insecurity and self-doubt, a lover begging for another chance he knows will probably never come.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10)

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