Review: 'War Elephant'/Deer Tick

(Note: I know this was originally released in late 2007, but I just got it and loved it. So save the snotty comments.)

Ever get a record by Various Artists and you don't know most of them and you have to find the one you do know so you can work out which is the band name and which is the song name? I imagine that happened to a few people reading the title of the post above. So Deer Tick is the band, War Elephant is the album, but it could be argued that the latter is a totally fucking stupendous band name and someone has probably already used it. Ladies and gentlemen ... we ... are ... WAR ELEPHANT.

In other non-musical news, behold their album cover and bask in the awesomeness of the rock n roll themes contained therein: girls, guns, beaches, smokes. I am positive they are intoxicated. 

Moving on, I LOVE THIS RECORD. These guys have hit the nail on the head. The singer's voice reminds me a bit of Matt Berninger from The National, although he sings in a bit of a lazier style that's very hard not to like. It's also hard not to like how he does this thing in songs where you'd swear he was freshly punched in the gut and is smoking a cigarette to get over the pain. 

You can put this on for any crowd and people will be happy. They have some stuff on here I'm a complete sucker for, you know harmonies and sing-alongs and all that happy horseshit ('Dirty Dishes'). 

'What Kind of Fool Am I' sounds like something Frank Sinatra would have sang (did he? I don't do much research for these things, and by not much research, I mean I'm not even looking at who wrote the fucking song, I'm just kind of going with it and hoping it's an original). Very cool. 

There's an extreme lack of records that are good from start to finish, even some really good bands put out the one great song/four good song/six OK song type of albums and you're stuck with a bunch of duds. This record totally fucking delivers and is worthy all the way through. Even some of the three stars could rise up to four and might have already if they weren't overshadowed by the aura of sonic awesomeness surrounding them. 

Buy this record. 

Best song: Art Isn't Real (City of Sin), although it was close between this and 'Long Time' which is also a very great song. 

Worst Song: Christ Jesus

Song That Could Potentially Get You Laid If Placed Stealthily on a Mix: Diamond Rings 2007. Just throw it on there, it's just a song, right? 

Songs:

Ashamed (4 Stars)

Art Isn't Real (City of Sin) (4 Stars)

Standing at the Threshold (4 Stars)

Dirty Dishes (4 Stars)

Long Time (4 Stars)

Nevada (4 Stars)

Baltimore Blues, No. 1 (4 Stars)

These Old Shoes (3 Stars)

Not So Dense (4 Stars)

Spend the Night (4 Stars)

Diamond Rings 2007 (4 Stars)

Sink or Swim (3 Stars)

Christ Jesus (3 Stars)

What Kind of Fool Am I? (4 Stars)