Born on Flag Day

Deer Tick: John McCauley (vocals, guitar); Andrew Tobiassen (guitar); Chris Ryan (bass guitar); Dennis Ryan (drums, background vocals).
More focused than its predecessor, WAR ELEPHANT, Deer Tick's BORN ON FLAG DAY is comprised of ten songs in the straight-up stylings of indie rock and Americana. Vocalist John Joseph McCauley III's singing is still raspy (like a down-home version of Axl Rose) but here, he and his crew flesh out their woodsy sensibilities with a larger scope. The sound is bigger, and the hooks are more palpable. By sacrificing grit, some of the charm that made the debut a success is lost along the way, but the sleeker production is only a minor setback. Even with a heavy helping of spiteful, desperate lyrics delivered straight from the bottom of the bottle, the sparkling production makes Deer Tick seem like a likely crossover to the mainstream, specifically those who love a more mature, NPR sound.