Feature, News

Deer Tick unveil new song ‘The Dream’s In The Ditch’

July 31, 2013

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New single: ‘The Rock’ – August 12, 2013

New album: Negativity – September 30, 2013

London’s Borderline – October 1, 2013

 

In preparation for their forthcoming album, Deer Tick have unveiled another new song called ‘The Dream’s In The Ditch’, which premiered yesterday on Rolling Stone. The second track to emerge from the new LP – which is titled ‘Negativity’ and released on September 30 via Partisan Records – the folk-tinged ‘The Dream’s In The Ditch’ adopts a much more lighthearted and melodic approach then lead single ‘The Rock’ (released August 12) and sees Ian O’Neil take over the role of lead vocalist from Deer Tick’s usual frontman, John McCauley. Of the new song, O’Neil says “we toured exhaustively leading up to 2013 and it kind of left me and our band feeling hopeless and disheartened. After the song was written, I started to realize that’s what I was writing about: both the despair and [the] resilience you develop as a touring musician”.

Partisan Records has announced the release of Negativity, the eagerly anticipated new album from Deer Tick, which will be released in the UK on September 30th. To celebrate the release, the band will be playing a UK album launch show at London’s Borderline on Tuesday October 1st. The album will be preceded by the brand new single, and album opener, ‘The Rock’, out August 12.  Listen to the single here:

Negativity marks Deer Tick’s fifth full-length studio release, and follow-up to 2011’s acclaimed Divine Providence

Each new Deer Tick record has stood as a progressive milestone for frontman John McCauley and the Providence, Rhode Island-based band (guitarist Ian O’Neill, bassist Christopher Dale Ryan, keyboardist Rob Crowell, and drummer Dennis Ryan), but Negativity represents an epic leap forward on virtually all fronts. Recorded earlier this year in Portland, Oregon with legendary producer/musician Steve Berlin (The Blasters, Los Lobos, and last year’s McCauley side project, Diamond Rugs), the album is McCauley’s most personal work thus far as well as the band’s most undeniable and universal, their famously freewheeling musical approach refined here into a gloriously cohesive whole.

Negativity was penned over the course of a genuinely eventful 2012, an annus horribilus in which McCauley’s father pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and tax fraud, ultimately leading to a prison sentence. As if that weren’t enough, McCauley’s wedding engagement collapsed under the weight of his own excessive behaviour and impossible lifestyle. Like any true artist, McCauley channeled his anger, sadness, and regret into his work, resulting in what can be safely declared his finest collection of songs to date, impassioned and interior and increasingly mature, both as expression of emotion as well as pure unadulterated songcraft.

Deer Tick – sounding as sure-footed as one would expect from a band known for spending a couple of hundred nights each year on stage – more than match the strength of the material by taking a more detailed approach than on some of the breakneck recordings of their past. From the sparkling baroque pop of “The Dream’s In The Ditch” to the full-blown Memphis showstopper, “Trash,” Negativity sees the Tick bridging boozy punk, AM gold, bar band blues, country soul, and whatever else catches their fancy into their own profoundly American rock ‘n’ roll. 

While Deer Tick have been rightfully hailed for their raucous rave-ups and substance-fuelled fervour, Negativity places considerable focus on the band’s nuanced and tender side, with notable highlights including the wrenching breakup ballad, “Hey Doll,” and “In Our Time,” a timeless country tearjerker featuring duet vocals from McCauley’s good friend, singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton. At once heartbreaking, fist-pumping, and indeed, life-affirming, Negativity stands as a genuine high water mark for Deer Tick – a defining collection from a band driven by an undying faith in rock ‘n’ roll’s evergreen power of redemption and transcendence.

LIVE :

1 October    LONDON         The Borderline http://www.gigsandtours.com/

2 October    BRUSSELS       Botanique Rotonde  http://www.botanique.be/

3 October    AMSTERDAM Paridiso – Upstairs http://www.paradiso.nl/

4 October    BERLIN            Comet Club http://www.ticketmaster.de/

 www.deertickmusic.com // @deertickmusic // https://www.facebook.com/deertick

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