The Amazing: "Picture You"

Continuing to bring you some essential new songs - we continue with the new track from long-time Swedish warriors The Amazing who's new tune "Picture You" while clocking in at a patience testing 9 minutes and 27 seconds - delivers in its languid melodies and intricate guitar work. Recalling vocal and instrumental influences direct from vintage Red House Painters, The Amazing's upcoming album Picture You is set for release Feb 17 from the lovely folks at Partisan.

Deer Tick Announces 'Negativty'

An almost unrecognizable John McCauley lingers behind his band-mates in the above photo promoting the new Deer Tick album Negativity, due on Partisan Records Sept 24. McCauley's newly exposed hairline, jawline and face - seem almost symbolic of the raw emotions and lyrical content within the album - mostly resulting from an ill-fated engagement to Nikki "Darlin" singer for Those Darlins. With crisp, clean production from Steve Berlin, McCauley's voice and songs are the focus of this moodier and reflective new album - and it suits the group - and perhaps appeases some fans turned off by the sloppier more spastic output from the group on recent albums and side projects. Noted highlight is the excellent pure country duet with Vanessa Carlton - a recent live collaborator - that serves as a point of levity in what is otherwise a dark but very rewarding album.

Pure Bathing Culture: "Pendulum"

Following an excellent debut - Pure Bathing Culture have crafted a fantastic sophomore effort in Moon Tides. With more sophisticated song structures and a delicate execution, PBC channel the best parts of Beach House with tinges of Cocteau Twins and a West Coast wispiness that fits their aesthetic perfectly. Moon Tides is out on August 20 on Partisan Records. Loving everything we've heard so far. VIA

Heartland Music: Field Report

[mp3] Field Report: "I Am Not Waiting Anymore" 

Wisconsin native Chris Porterfield, formally of Conrad Plymouth and DeYarmond Edison now recording under under the moniker of Field Report, crafts softly finger-picked heartland melodies with tinges of Tallest Man on Earth, and the autumnal melancholy of Magnolia Electric Company. We had the pleasure of knocking a few back with the band, their new label Partisan, and their crack PR team after their show in NY Saturday night, which only made us more excited for their self-titled album coming out Sept. 11. Already garnering much love in the press, we hope things continue to build for these guys.

Sallie Ford and The Sound Outside

[mp3] Sallie Ford: "I Swear"

Stark favorite Partisan Records has been on a roll lately, from Paleo to Middle Brother/Deer Tick, to Sallie Ford and a hopefully soon-to-be-coming new record from Chris Denny, Partisan has honed their sound and their label brand. Sallie Ford's debut LP, 'Dirty Radio' dropped Monday. It's a quirky, but not kitschy affair, that is buoyed by Ford's unique vocal performances and compelling melodies. The above video for "I Swear" is equal in quirk and throwback charm to the excellent song. We always feel like "fun" is a cheap adjective when it comes to describing music, so we'll just say that this is a great early summer album.

Mountain Man Signs to Partisan

[mp3] Mountain Man: "Dog Song"

Some equally great news over the wire today, that the haunting, yet vocally-pure Vermont trio Mountain Man has signed to Partisan Records and will be releasing their debut album Made The Harbor on July 20th. Channeling the ghosts and harmonies of old Carter Family records, these three women weave spellbinding patterns of American folk melodies with voices that are immediate and completely arresting. There are more than a few demos out there, you can grab an MP3 above and stream tunes here from Bella Union (their UK home).

New Deer Tick: 20 Miles

[mp3] Deer Tick: "20 Miles"

You know we're all about the Deer Tick around here. While John McCauley's and co.'s last effort Born on Flag Day didn't deliver as fully as we had hoped, it was still a solid album -- it wasn't War Elephant, but it did the job. McCauley is a prolific writer, so it's not surprising to have another album from the Deer Tick folks inside of a year. The press release promises darker more stripped-bare arrangements on the upcoming Black Dirt Sessions (June 8, Partisan) -- which honestly, we're cool with. We have the first track for you "20 Miles" above. Tour dates and tracklist after the jump.

DEER TICK

04/08 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge #
04/09 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club #
04/10 Iowa City, IA The Mill #
04/11 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Music Hall #
04/12 Oklahoma City, OK Conservatory &
04/13 El Paso, TX Percolator &
04/14 Phoenix, AZ The Trunkspace &
04/16 Indio, CA Coachella
04/20 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom %
04/21 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret %
04/22 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern %
04/24 Santa Cruz, CA Crepe Place
04/25 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall *
04/27 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre *
04/28 Las Vegas, NV Beauty Bar
04/29 Santa Fe, NM Sante Fe Brewing Company *
04/30 Dallas, TX The Loft *
05/01 Austin, TX Emo's *
05/02 Houston, TX Warehouse Live Studio *
05/03 Fayetteville, AR Majestic Lounge *
05/04 Little Rock, AR Sticky Fingerz
05/05 Birmingham, AL Workplay *
05/06 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom *
05/07 Louisville, KY Headliners *
05/08 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern
05/09 Ithaca, NY Castaway's
05/10 Albany, NY Valentines
05/11 Boston, MA Paradise *
05/12 Boston, MA Paradise *
05/13 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory *
05/14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club *
05/15 New York, NY Terminal 5 *
07/23 - 07/24 Floyd, VA Floyd Fest
08/06 - 08/08 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza

* = w/ Dr. Dog
# = w/ Those Darlins
% = w/ Holy Sons
& = w/ One Wolf

Deer Tick
The Black Dirt Sessions
(Partisan)
Street Date: June 8, 2010

1. Choir of Angels
2. Twenty Miles
3. Goodbye, Dear Friend
4. Piece By Piece, Frame By Frame
5. Sad Sun
6. Mange
7. When She Comes Home
8. Hand In My Hand
9. I Will Not Be Myself
10. Blood Moon
11. Christ Jesus


DEER TICK LINKS:
Deer Tick at Partisan Records: www.partisanrecords.com/deertick

Deer Tick website: www.deertickmusic.com

Deer Tick on MySpace: www.myspace.com/deertick

Deer Tick on Facebook: www.facebook.com/deertick

Deer Tick on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deertickmusic

New Deer Tick Album: Black Dirt Sessions

You know we loves us the Deer Tick. Black Dirt Sessions drops June 8 on new label Partisan (also home to Chris Denny). Cover art, tour and tracklist after the jump. From the press release:

Recorded late last year at Black Dirt Studios in upstate New York, The Black Dirt Sessions is a deeply personal record from Deer Tick and most especially from lead vocalist and songwriter John McCauley. It is the sound of a band coming into its own, finding its voice and pouring its collective heart out. The comparisons that have often been thrust upon McCauley by the press seem to fall away as his own voice comes through more clearly. On songs like "Goodbye, Dear Friend" and "Christ Jesus" which find McCauley alone at the piano, about as naked as you can possibly get on record. The Black Dirt version of "Christ Jesus," which also appeared on War Elephant, manages to be even more devastating than the original

Deer Tick
The Black Dirt Sessions
(Partisan)
Street Date: June 8, 2010

1. Choir of Angels
2. Twenty Miles
3. Goodbye, Dear Friend
4. Piece By Piece, Frame By Frame
5. Sad Sun
6. Mange
7. When She Comes Home
8. Hand In My Hand
9. I Will Not Be Myself
10. Blood Moon
11. Christ Jesus



DEER TICK

02/27 - Northampton, MA Pearl St.
03/05 - Los Angeles, CA Natural History Museum
03/13 - Cincinatti, OH Fountain Square
03/15 Columbia, MO Mojo's
03/17 - 03/20 Austin, TX SXSW
04/02 Providence, RI Jerky's #
04/03 Providence, RI Firehouse 13 #
04/04 Portland, ME Space Gallery #
04/05 Montreal, QC Il Motore #
04/06 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern #
04/07 Detroit, MI Magic Stick #
04/08 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge #
04/09 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club #
04/10 Iowa City, IA The Mill #
04/11 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Music Hall #
04/12 Oklahoma City, OK Conservatory
04/14 Phoenix, AZ The Trunkspace
04/16 Indio, CA Coachella
04/20 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom %
04/21 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret %
04/22 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern %
04/24 Santa Cruz, CA Crepe Place
04/25 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall *
04/27 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre *
04/28 Las Vegas, NV Beauty Bar
04/29 Santa Fe, NM Sante Fe Brewing Company *
04/30 Dallas, TX The Loft *
05/01 Austin, TX Emo's *
05/02 Houston, TX Warehouse Live Studio *
05/03 Fayetteville, AR Majestic Lounge *
05/04 Little Rock, AR Sticky Fingerz
05/05 Birmingham, AL Workplay *
05/06 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom *
05/07 Louisville, KY Headliners *
05/08 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern
05/09 Ithaca, NY Castaway's
05/10 Albany, NY Valentines
05/11 Boston, MA Paradise *
05/12 Boston, MA Paradise *
05/13 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory *
05/14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club *
05/15 New York, NY Terminal 5 *

* = w/ Dr. Dog
# = w/ Those Darlins
% = w/ Holy Sons

Partisan Records Digital Sampler and Tour

DOWNLOAD: Partisan Records Sampler

It's been almost 2 years since we've been able to write about Chris Denny. We discovered him randomly one summer after he played at the 11th st bar about 20 feet from my house. It took about 2 seconds of listening to his debut record Age Old Hunger to fall head over heals for him. Denny's jarring Southern falsetto comes from a different time and it damn sure doesn't sound like it comes from anywhere near New York City. Yet rumors have it that this Arkansas native has relocated (at least part time) to Brooklyn on the back of his signing to Partisan Records. Denny has struggled to find his niche, even playing some dates on the singer-songwriter lite Hotel Cafe tour. With Partisan, it seems like Denny has found a great home.

This October, he will be part of a stacked tour just announced today entitled the Green Manalishi Tour featuring fellow Partisan artists Deer Tick, Holy Sons, Dolorean and Paleo. Exclusive East Coast dates after the jump. Partisan has also kindly made up a killer sampler featuring tracks from all of the above artists including a brand new Chris Denny song. Tracklist ATJ. It seems that Partisan, an artist run label representing a group of "counter-culture misfits" is on absolutely the right track; and despite their worries about this "Bacchanalian gathering"we feel that it can only be destined for success. Right?

Mon-Oct-19 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 *
Tue-Oct-20 Washington, DC Black Cat Backstage *
Wed-Oct-21 Baltimore, MD Sonar *
Thu-Oct-22 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom (Partisan CMJ Showcase) #
Fri-Oct-23 Providence, RI Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel #
Sat-Oct-24 Boston, MA Harper's Ferry #

* = featuring Deer Tick, Chris Denny & The Natives, Holy Sons, Dolorean
# = featuring Deer Tick, Chris Denny & The Natives, Holy Sons, Dolorean, Paleo
After the jump.

Partisan Records Digital Sampler:

1. Christopher Denny "Vacation" (UNRELEASED)
2. Christopher Denny "Age Old Hunger" (from Age Old Hunger, 2007)
3. Deer Tick "Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)" (DEMO VERSION)
4. Deer Tick "Smith Hill" (from Born on Flag Day, 2009 Partisan)
5. Dolorean "Beachcomber Blues" (from You Can't Win, 2007 Yep Roc)
6. Dolorean "Buffalo Gal" (from You Can't Win, 2007 Yep Roc)
7. Holy Sons "Gnostic Device" (from Decline of the West, 2008 Partisan)
8. Holy Sons "I'm Healed" (from Decline of the West, 2008 Partisan)
9. Paleo "In the Morning Linda Dies" (from The Song Diary, 2009 Self-Released)
10. Paleo "Too Poor" (UNRELEASED)

Got it Covered: Deer Tick Does "Dead Flowers

Deer Tick - Dead Flowers from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

[mp3] Deer Tick: "Easy"

Thanks to the Deer Tick Twitter for bringing this fantastic cover of The Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" to our attention. Deer Tick (a.k.a. John Joseph McCauley III) released his newest effort, Born on Flag Day, on June 23 via Partisan Records. The new album is more electric, but not lacking in the folky-mysticism previously established by War Elephant. It's still in heavy rotation around these parts.

Deer Tick and Brian Williams Get Awkward

[mp3] Deer Tick: "Easy"

NBC News anchor Brian Williams has always been one of the good guys: intelligent and down to earth in his nightly news telecasts without being preachy, and witty and self-deprecating in his appearances on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock without forcing it. So, Brian Williams checklist, you guys: smart, funny, relatable. But brilliant rock journalist he is not.

In his new online series BriTunes -- an awful and certainly corporate-inspired title -- Williams profiles upcoming indie rock bands. He's got a knack for "identifying good music and good groups, discovering them early and following them through their journey." Inexplicably, Stark faves Deer Tick are the first band in the inaugural segment, and duh, the whole piece is cringeworthy. Williams asks John McCauley and gang what is essentially the same question (what's it like to be an emerging band?) several different ways, and then comes off like a dad when describing the epic "use of the crash" (hand motions included) at the end of the song "Dirty Dishes." The whole thing is bizarre. Not quite Weezy/Miss Katie bizarre, but close.

Deer Tick will release Born On Flag Day via Partisan on June 23, which is not Flag Day.

New Deer Tick mp3

[mp3]
Deer Tick: "Easy"

Truly sad news about Harry Kalas. During the '93 world series we muted the national TV broadcast so we could listen to Harry on the local radio instead. Certainly the voice of Philadelphia sports, he'll be missed indeed.

Onwards and upwards though. Yesterday, we received the new mp3 "Easy" from Deer Tick's up-coming record Born on Flag Day dropping June 23rd on Partisan. "Easy" incorperates brooding guitar lines and layered melodies recalling more Lucero than Townes Van Zandt, which is just fine. John J. McCauley III can deliver raspy, vocal growls with the same authenticity as Ben Nichols, and could probably do well in a drinking contest against him as well (advantage Nichols on that one though.) For all the growls, guitars and booze, McCauley can write a damn fine hook. "Easy" is a pure and simple rock song. Sometimes that's all it takes folks. We love it. Above is round two of the cover art, so, if you're keeping track at home -- that's four album covers for two Deer Tick records.