Deer Tick - War Elephant

I originally found out who Deer Tick was before this ever got pressed onto vinyl. I tried to order it, but it was one of those "gotta get it from the label" kind of things and it was only available on CD, so I decided to wait. I'm really glad I did, because in the mean time, the cover changed from a drawing of an armored elephant into a picture of girls in bikini's with guns! I think there's some guys on the cover too, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, neato vinyl fact: This is a three sided record! That's right, side four is just a cool picture, so don't try to play it. They don't make the drugs required to enjoy that kind of side anymore, so just stick to the first three and use the fourth side to show off pictures of your turntable on nerdy audiophile blogs.

Anyway, the music on the album is by a guy named John McCauley. He does almost everything by himself and I think that may kind of lend to this album being really well thought out and consistent from beginning to end. He doesn't have to argue with his bass player's wife about adding that turd of a song the bass player was scared to share with the band (for good reason) to the album. John knows what he wants this record to be and that's what it is, no more and no less.

What War Elephant is, is a smart, kinda sad, but mostly optimistic, mid fi Rock album. I love the sound of these tracks. They're just clean enough to make you feel like you aren't wasting your money on a real stereo (instead of a shitty iPod), but they're just dirty and gritty enough to back up McCauley's weary-beyond-his-years voice, and leave you very satisfied. There's plenty of acoustic guitars, violins and nice, meaty bass guitar to make any rocker happy. Although that happiness may be short lived, because McCauley's lyrics can be pretty sad, but he never seems entirely defeated. His love songs hold out some hope, but I think he's at the very least an agnostic when he's singing about God, so he doesn't seem to have many answers in that direction. Which is kind of refreshing because so many people these days seem to think God is on their side, and that's why they have bigger guns and more money than everyone else.

I don't know why radio stations don't play Deer Tick. I think this fits in great with Classic Rock like Neil Young or Bob Dylan. To me, everything that makes a great album is here. There's smart lyrics, greasy guitars, a feeling that this music was never new, it just always was, and it always will be. I can't imagine anyone that owns this album not still listening to it in 25 years.

It's got girls in bikini's with guns on the cover, too. Did I mention that?