Deer tick

Sunday, September 13

Brian Kenney

Early on, Deer Tick frontman John McCauley might have gotten his Master of Arts at the School of George Harrison, alongside fellow singer/songwriters Hank Williams and Jay Farrar.

Probably the biggest thing to come out of Rhode Island since the Farrelly Brothers, Deer Tick tunes roll out in front of you like a familiar but exciting road trip narrative. Deer Tick’s latest, Born on a Flag Day, is more Nirvana-influenced indie than Ryan Adams alt-country as McCauley has fleshed out his band in the last few years since his one-man-band outing War Elephant (2007).

Their newer, more full-bodied sound still drawls like a whiskey drunk sidestepping down a narrow Telecaster street, to accompany its pocketful of bitter songs of lost love and apathetic politic.

Deer Tick should more than fulfill your alternative country fix for the weekend — even though the band scoffs at any description with “alt” in it.