Every once in awhile, there comes a singing voice that truly shocks audiences. David Byrne had it, Jeff Mangum had it, Van Morrison had it and now John McCauley has it. As the lead singer and songwriter of Deer Tick, McCauley projects the insane energy of a man with hope, but losing it fast. His throaty growl can transform into a wildcat roar in just a few notes, and his clear influences stretch from Hank Williams to Elvis Presley.

McCauley is not a countercultural figure just because of his wild voice, which sounds like a boot heel crunching a whiskey bottle into a dirt road, but due to the way in which he faces the norm straight on and screams in its face. McCauley, and the band as a whole, defies his roots and pursues an America that is today treated like a thing of the past—the rural small town. He is from Rhode Island, hardly the gritty rural environment he sings about. He was 20 years old when he recorded the band's debut album War Elephant, but on the recordings he sounds about 65. Despite his usual scowling scream, he chose to cover a Sammy Davis, Jr., song to close out his first album. Plus, Deer Tick's live show features the only time I've seen a man with a rattail play the upright bass.

Lyrically, McCauley sounds like someone who has been through everything and still sees a lot ahead. At 20 years old, he opened his debut album with the line, "I am the boy your mother wanted you to meet, but I am broken and torn with heels at my feet." Words like this reveal the vulnerability hidden beneath the veneer of screaming rocker that McCauley puts out in his stage performances. He's not afraid to examine big problems, and he's also not afraid to pervert cliche love songs, to add an alcoholic troublemaker element.



His most personal exploration is in "Christ Jesus," where he examines his intense struggle with his spirituality, screaming Jesus' name from the bottom of his despair, and admitting, "As I'm drowning and I struggle to breathe it's your face I don't see." The intensity of his longing is something lacking in most of today's music. The passion behind his words and his voice overshadows the simple musicianship in most of his songs, whereas most mainstream music shoots for style over substance (call me pretentious, but repeating the word "umbrella" over and over doesn't do it for me as much as crying the lord's name repeatedly).

I hate McCauley's subdued fury. It makes me think I'm not angry enough.