Hometown myths reimagined
Deer Tick’s imaginative take on their hometown takes center stage on Coin-O-Matic, released June 5.
Eponymously titled after the cigarette-vending headquarters of infamous crime lord Raymond Patriarca, whom frontman John McCauley recalled encountering around town in his youth, the album is a vivid excavation of the mysterious history of Providence, Rhode Island. In both sound and theme, Coin-O-Matic is at times reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, which similarly explores fictional and real-life accounts of the immigrant experience, working-class struggle, religion and grief, creating a window into the lives of a community.
The sparse acoustic opener “Dog Years” frames McCauley’s soulful reflections on aging and unresolved grief before unfurling into rich horns, organ swells and crunchy indie-rock guitars. The band’s range is on full display throughout the record. “Endless Loop” drifts on dreamy delay and piano countermelodies while “Eyelid” takes a left-field art-rock turn, with Bowie-inspired vocal treatments and angular textures widening the album’s palette.
“ACI,” which stands for “Adult Correctional Institution,” is a heartland rock song in which McCauley growls about the tragedy of an incarcerated father. “Everything Born” is perhaps the album’s most Springsteen-esque moment, pairing flanger-soaked guitar solos and thunderous toms with themes of familial dysfunction and escapism.
The lead single, “Mary Singletary,” likely takes its name from Patriarca’s obscure extramarital partner and explores the tension between clandestine relationships and Catholic guilt. McCauley sings, “Sick with worry that God would cut me down with a grand piano falling like a cartoon from the Warners.” Despite the pop-culture associations often attached to both organized crime and the Church, the song’s childlike references to wrath and martyrdom soften the weight of divine judgment. The result feels less like an episode of The Sopranos and more like a warm and heartfelt love song.
Deer Tick has undergone a quiet but steady maturation since emerging from the pandemic. Time away from the road appears to have transformed the once-revelrous touring act into consistently strong recording artists, and Coin-O-Matic stands as one of their most polished releases to date.
With mixing and engineering handled primarily by drummer Dennis Ryan, each song was crafted through home-studio production and features writing contributions from nearly every member of the band. The collaborative spirit behind the album reflects both the independence of the project and a departure from some of the band’s earlier recordings. That level of trust and cohesion is the product of more than 20 years of making music together.
In many ways, Deer Tick has fully realized its potential. Coin-O-Matic is a warm, thoughtful and richly detailed record that transforms local history into modern folklore, cementing the band’s status as hometown heroes while showcasing the strength of their collective songwriting.
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