Partisan Records re-issued Deer Tick’s debut War Elephant on November 11, 2008. The re-issue will be released on both double limited edition vinyl and CD with new album artwork. Partisan Records will also be releasing a full-length album of early original Deer Tick songs at a later date.
Songwriting prodigy John McCauley III wrote and recorded War Elephant at the age of 20, and plays every single instrument on the album. Originally a very limited release, the album received immense praise from top national critics like The New York Times and NPR, but quickly went out of print. The War Elephant re-issue will also represent the first ever vinyl release from Deer Tick.
Praise for Deer Tick:
“Expression is rarely subverted on War Elephant which is not a problem at all with fourteen songs this strong and worth listening to over and over, which I’m doing right now and should be for some time to come.”- Three Imaginary Girls
“The fact that you can never quite pin this sound down is a testament to a certain originality. From the noisy steam-engine sound of “These Old Shoes” to the infectious glee of “Spend The Night,” McCauley and company work hard to wrap their debut in a shroud of nostalgia.”- The Tripwire
“This repackaged release is way better than the original for the simple reason that the cover art (a desert scene: girls in bikinis with automatic weapons, sunglasses, boys with cigarettes) is a visual representation of the music’s advocacy of excess and an outsider stance.”- Brainwashed Brain
“Much like Joanna Newsom, only with more grit, piss and vinegar, McCauley sounds like both the old and the young, simultaneously, which lends his debut full-length release War Elephant the benefit of sounding mature and fresh, simultaneously. “- Treble
“Deer Tick is exactly what the name suggests: a needling, ever present pain in the side of the too perfect majesty of some too beautiful creature, a “testament to how we are so animalistic.””- Coke Machine Glow
“War Elephant is no doubt an accomplishment – and to think this is only a debut, the next half-decade is this kid’s to lose. “- 30 Music
“Deer Tick’s War Elephant ended up being one of my favorite addictions of 2007″ – Brooklyn Vegan
“The lone singer with a guitar will always be an icon of American folk music, but modern American folk is a diverse and rich genre that branches into rock, country and blues. Deer Tick understands this…” – NPR
“I got lucky and stumbled onto Deer Tick” – Jon Pareles, The New York Times
“There is plenty about Deer Tick’s debut album, War Elephant, to suggest that frontman John McCauley has seen more than his 21 birthdays.” – Pitchfork
Deer Tick
War Elephant
(Partisan)
Street date: Nov. 11, 2008
01. Ashamed
02. Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin)
03. Standing At The Threshold
04. Dirty Dishes
05. Long Time
06. Nevada
07. Baltimore Blues No. 1
08. These Old Shoes
09. Not So Dense
10. Spend The Night
11. Diamond Rings 2007
12. Sink Or Swim
13. Christ Jesus
14. What Kind of Fool Am I?
DEER TICK LINKS:
MySpace: www.myspace.com/deertick
Press Materials: partisanrecords.com/promo/deertick