Divine Providence : 2nd

The fourth full-length studio album from singer/songwriter John McCauley's ragged, lo-fi, alt-country, indie rock outfit Deer Tick sounds more like the band that occasionally devotes entire sets to Nirvana under the “Deervana” moniker than it does the folksy, garage-bound hybrid of Nebraska-era Springsteen and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers that appeared on earlier albums. Recorded in the band’s hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, Divine Providence sounds like last call and feels like the morning after, offering up 12 slabs of Stooges and Stones-inspired raw power that celebrate the sweet lows and fleeting highs of being young, numb, and full of rum in a blue-collar town with nothing to lose. Closer in tone to the band’s raucous live shows, Deer Tick channel Damaged-era Black Flag on “The Bump” and “Let’s All Go to the Bar,” mid-period Spoon on “Main Street” and “Make Believe,” and a less self-aware, Hold Steady on “Chevy Express” and “Something to Brag About,” resulting in their loosest, wildest, and most honest collection of Saturday night/Sunday morning pining/drinking songs to date. ~ James Christopher Monger|