Next year marks 20 years since Deer Tick released their debut collection of punk-tinged Americana, War Elephant. And although they’ve undergone plenty of change since then—bouncing as they have between rowdy pub-rock and dark alt-country, sticky power-pop and a more mature heartland-rock sound—the band’s basic DNA has hardly changed. In fact, their latest record is among the quartet’s most personal, both in its subject matter and in its composition. Coin-O-Matic marks their first-ever self-produced set of songs, with the 11-track collection exploring the strange history of the group’s hometown of Providence, Rhode Island—namely the state capital’s working-class lifestyle and the dark cloud that hangs over it due to its mafia underworld.
Yet the band remains upbeat as ever on early singles “ACI” and “Mary Singletary”—even if the latter features the band in corpse paint in the song’s music video—while the more balladic latest cut “Dog Years” even has a certain pep to its step. The record is also among their most eclectic to date due in part to the fact that they’ve been amassing influences over the course of their entire career and beyond, with all four band members noting how even a song by pop-rock songwriter Shelby Lynne that was introduced to bassist Chris Ryan in high school found its way into the mix. Elsewhere, frontman John McCauley cites Weezer’s cult hit Pinkerton as inspo for their own self-produced material, the devotion of Bob Dylan’s Christian arc impacted guitarist Ian O’Neil, and the riff-heavy choruses of Thee Oh Sees inspired percussionist Dennis Ryan.
With the LP dropping this Friday via ATO, check out their full list of influences on Coin-O-Matic below. You can also pre-order the album here.
JOHN MCCAULEY
Weezer, “Pink Triangle”
Back in the day Weezer got dragged pretty badly for their self-produced album Pinkerton, but I’ve always loved it. Time was eventually good to Pinkerton, but listening to it while we were self-producing our own record for the first time, it reminded me to trust our instincts. As far as why I chose this particular song, I suppose it’s the layers of acoustic and electric guitars, the glockenspiel, and the self-deprecating humor.
Jason Isbell, “Ride to Robert’s”
On our new record I was inspired to do the sparsely arranged intro and outro to “Dog Years” solely because of Jason’s Foxes in the Snow album, which is just tremendous. Out of all the songs I suppose I picked “Ride to Robert’s” because of the sense of place you get from it. I hoped to instill a strong sense of place into all of my songs on Coin-O-Matic.
Joe Cocker, “High Time We Went”
I love Joe’s muscular voice. I like to try to capture some of that muscular energy in my own vocal performances sometimes. I love the pounding piano-playing on this one, too.
The Rolling Stones, “Beast of Burden” (Live)
They never play anything the same way twice, and to me, there’s a whole lot to admire about that. I love this version from Some Girls: Live in Texas ’78. I think the groove may have played some part in inspiring the guitar riff in “I Am an Island.”
Hole, “Violet”
I love the quiet/loud dynamic of the Pixies, Nirvana, etc. I think “Violet” is one of the finest examples of it. Reining in the verses and letting the choruses explode is something we use from time to time, and “Candy Cigarettes” on our new record is no exception.
IAN O’NEIL
NEU!, “Isi”
The wash and sanguine peaks of “Isi” are something I was reaching for while we made our new song “Endless Loop.” Everything in Klaus Dinger’s universe is worth exploring.
Bob Dylan, “Property of Jesus”
Shot of Love is one of my favorite Bob records. It feels very live. Bob’s Christian period has this strange cloud hanging over it for most Boomer-to-Millennial fans. Growing up fairly Catholic, I initially had that repulsion as a young person. But I promise you can see something powerful in his devotion if you stick with it—you hear it all over his singing from this period. And with Jim Keltner on drums, “Property of Jesus” just rocks.
Destroyer, “Crimson Tide”
Dan Bejar’s turn toward synthesizers is a gift to rock music.
The Drin, “Bascinet”
These guys are my favorite new band of the last many years. I would put this song on during a run every morning before heading to the studio to record Coin-O-Matic, and it always kept me inspired to begin.
Bruce Springsteen, “All That Heaven Will Allow”
I love the comedown music Bruce made right after the massive success of Born in the USA. The songs on Tunnel of Love are personal, insular love songs, and with where I’m at in my life, I feel a kinship toward them.
DENNIS RYAN
Dan Reeder, “Nobody Wants to Be You”
This song’s influence is twofold: Lyrically, I love that it tells a very vivid story, yet still allows spaces for the listener to fill in some blanks. Also, we recorded a 6/8 rock version of this song and it made me want to write a 6/8 rock song.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, “Ffunny Ffriends”
When I started writing “Sweetest Things,” I heard UMO for the first time ever (except seeing them once at SXSW). For the demo I was recording the drums in my basement studio with a single mic, feeling inspired by how this song was recorded and feels.
The Sonics, “Have Love Will Travel”
I saw The Sonics perform the night before writing the song “Eyelid.” I was so inspired to write a piece that has a recognizable riff as its own part of the song.
Thee Oh Sees, “Toe Cutter - Thumb Buster”
Though this song and “507 Smith” are very different, I imagined the musical refrain of “507 Smith” feeling a lot like the musical refrain of this song. I love the idea of a heavy riff as a chorus/refrain.
Nilüfer Yanya, “Paralysed”
This song came up on a shuffle of mine and I became obsessed with it during the period of recording Coin-O-Matic. I think some of its influence bled into the guitars in the chorus of “Eyelid.” I love how the guitars in the chorus of “Paralysed” really leap out and assert themselves.
CHRIS RYAN
Hildegard von Bingen, “Instrumentalstück”
This instrumental is from a compilation of her complete works by Sequentia, and the months leading up to recording [Coin-O-Matic] was mostly what I listened to on repeat. Much of my individual preparation for this self-produced record was spent in studio improvements—renovations, fabrications, constructing isolation boxes, baffles, a drumbrella, etc. While doing math I can’t listen to “normal” music; I’m too easily distracted. Hildegard is the best.
Cassandra Jenkins, “New Bikini”
If I had to claim a contemporary that was able to touch similar transcendance to Hildegard von Bingham, it would be Cassandra Jenkins. And as a New Englander I can’t argue with a song about the ocean.
Marina Allen, “Or Else”
One of my favorite records and artists of recent memory.
Shelby Lynne, “Lookin’ Up”
A friend put this song on a mixtape in high school and it’s lived in the back of my mind ever since. For whatever reason, it wriggled out and I was thinking about it around the time we were tracking the record.
Alicia Keys, “If I Ain’t Got You”
What can I say, this song slaps.
