The fourth full-length studio album from singer/songwriter
John McCauley
's ragged, lo-fi, alt-country, indie rock outfit
Deer Tick
sounds more like the band that occasionally devotes entire sets to
Nirvana
under the "Deervana" moniker than it does the folksy, garage-bound hybrid of
Nebraska
-era
Springsteen
and
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
that appeared on earlier albums. Recorded in the band's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island,
Divine Providence
sounds like last call and feels like the morning after, offering up 12 slabs of
Stooges
Stones
-inspired raw power that celebrate the sweet lows and fleeting highs of being young, numb, and full of rum in a blue-collar town with nothing to lose. Closer in tone to the band's raucous live shows,
channel
Damaged
Black Flag
on "The Bump" and "Let's All Go to the Bar," mid-period
Spoon
on "Main Street" and "Make Believe," and a less self-aware
Hold Steady
on "Chevy Express" and "Something to Brag About," resulting in their loosest, wildest, and most honest collection of Saturday night/Sunday morning pining/drinking songs to date. ~ James Christopher Monger