More Fuel for the Fire - EP

iTunes Review

Deer Tick, a.k.a. John McCauley, plays alt-country that sounds so classic you really have to remove the “alt” if you’re going to classify him. Then again, since a lot of modern country sounds like adult contemporary with a slide guitar mixed on top, you really can’t call him “country.” More Fuel for the Fire opens with “La la La” a Flying Burrito Brothers-styled number that boasts upfront pedal steel, endearingly warbly harmonies, saloon piano, stellar Telecaster picking and drumming that could fall apart at any moment. “Dance of Love” choogles with a Johnny Cash-esque locomotive rhythm and dexterous guitar leads going head-to-head with harmonica blasts. The danceable “Axe Is Forever” rolls on a boogie-woogie shuffle and McCauley’s faraway vocals singing like he was recorded in a big room. But it’s his guitar work here that stands out — the punchy tone sounds like one of those little Fender tube amps from the ‘50s that come to life in a recording studio. “Straight Into a Storm” made it to Deer Tick’s 2009 album Born On Flag Day, but here we get the live version that plays as if Wreckless Eric was born in Texas.