“Once In a Lifetime” by Deer Tick

Deer Tick today shared their new single/lyric video “Once In A Lifetime,” the second from their Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Spoon)-produced new album, Emotional Contracts, out June 16th via ATO Records. Led by the inimitable voice of singer/guitarist John McCauley and a rambling bass line by Christopher Ryan, the gorgeously sprawling and soul-soothing song begs repeat listens–and features backing vocals by Courtney Marie Andrews, Vanessa Carlton, Angela Miller (Black Pumas), Sheree Smith, and Kam Franklin. McCauley explains “Once In A Lifetime” is about “seizing the moment. You are going to die. Time is running out.

Beginning June 5th, the Providence, RI-based band–McCauley, O’Neil, Dennis Ryan (drums), and Christopher Ryan–will embark on a six-week summer U.S. tour that includes a west coast run supporting Jason Isbell. A full itinerary is listed below and tickets are on sale now.

Emotional Contracts catalogs all the existential casualties that accompany the passing of time, instilling each song with the irresistibly reckless spirit that’s defined Deer Tick for nearly two decades. Before heading into the studio with Fridmann, the four-piece spent months working on demos in a perpetually flooded warehouse space in their hometown, enduring the busted heating system and massive holes in the roof as they carved out the album’s 10 raggedly eloquent tracks. Emotional Contracts fully echoes the unruly energy of its creation, ultimately making for a heavy-hearted yet wildly life-affirming portrait of growing older without losing heart.

Mostly recorded live–and honed down from nearly 20 songs to a concise, thoughtfully curated ten–the album is Deer Tick’s most collaborative to date, and sees all four members operating at their peak songcraft powers. Emotional Contracts came to life over an unusually lengthy period of time for the band, with each track based in playing around together and connected in the almost telepathic way that’s only possible after nearly 20 years. Well-rehearsed and overly prepared, Deer Tick embraced a decidedly more free-and-easy approach to the recording process at Fridmann’s Tarbox Road Studios in Western New York. “We’ve had a habit of trying to maintain a strict control over everything in the studio, but this time we wanted to see what it would feel like to let go a bit,” says McCauley. “We figured that the songs were strong enough to stand on their own two feet, so whatever we put them through would just make them stronger and take us in some new directions.” Dennis adds, “The fact that we’d spent so much time with these songs allowed us to be really free once we got into the studio. No one was overthinking anything, and because of that the album sounds like us in a way that we’d never captured to this extent before.”

Deer Tick 2023 Live Dates

6/5 – Deerfield, MA @ Tree House Brewery (SOLD OUT)
6/7 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
6/8 – Canandaigua, NY @ Lincoln Hill Farms
6/9 – Woodstock, NY @ Levon’s Barn (SOLD OUT)
6/10 – Woodstock, NY @ Levon’s Barn (SOLD OUT)
6/12 – New York, NY @ Rough Trade (Limited Space)
6/14 – Portsmouth NH @ Cisco Brewers
6/15 – Matunuck, RI @ Ocean Mist (SOLD OUT)
6/16 – Matunuck, RI @ Ocean Mist (SOLD OUT)
6/17 – Matunuck, RI @ Ocean Mist (SOLD OUT)
6/19 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird
6/21 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
6/22 – Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI Annex
6/23 – Milwaukee WI @ Summerfest
6/24 – Maquoketa, IA @ Codfish Hollow (SOLD OUT)
6/25 – Wisconsin Dells, WI @ Showboat Saloon (SOLD OUT)
6/27 – Ft Collins @ Washington’s
6/29 – Stanford, CA @ Frost Amphitheatre*
6/30 – Quincy, CA @ High Sierra Music Festival
7/1 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater*
7/2/23 – Canby, OR @ Clackamas County Fairgrounds*
7/4 – Bonner, MT @ KettleHouse Amp*
7/5 – Seattle, WA @ Woodland Park Zoo*
7/6 – Spokane, WA @ Martin Woldson Theatre*
7/8 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden*
7/9 – Dillon, CO @ Lake Dillon Amphitheatre*
7/11 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre*
7/12 – San Diego, CA @ Humphrey’s*
7/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre*
7/15 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre*
7/16 – Las Vegas, NV @ Wynn Las Vegas*
10/12 – Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
10/13 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
10/15 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East
10/17 – Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre
10/19 – New Orleans, LA @ Chickie Wah Wah
10/20 – Houston, TX @ The Heights Theater
10/21 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
10/22 – Ft Worth, TX @ Tulips
11/8 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
11/9 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
11/10 – Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch
11/11 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
11/12 – Homer NY @ Homer Center for the Arts
11/14 – Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
11/15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
11/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
11/18 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11/24 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
11/25 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre