Diamond Rugs: “Out On My Own”
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John McCauley is a busy man. He’s the leader of the folk-rock act Deer Tick. His collaboration with Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and Delta Spirit’s Matthew Vasquez led to the band Middle Brother, which released an excellent self-titled record last year. Now McCauley has teamed up with a motley crew of musical kinsmen to create what might be one of the coolest rock supergroups around: Diamond Rugs.
Joining McCauley in Diamond Rugs is fellow Deer Tick Robbie Crowell, Ian Saint Pé from the impish garage rock band The Black Lips, Hardy Morris of the grunge-psych group Dead Confederate, Bryan Dufresne of Six Finger Satellite and, oddly enough, Steve Berlin of the legendary band Los Lobos. During some downtime in his new home of Nashville, McCauley found himself backstage at a Los Lobos concert. A big fan, McCauley convinced Berlin to join him in a new musical venture. Once the rest of the band was on board, the band entered the studio for a marathon 10-day session. What came out was no mere side project. It’s a full-fledged band, with a brand new full-length record that comes out today.
The self-titled album is an earthy set of songs. From scuzzy garage to good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, the record really does capture the flavor of all the members. Take, for instance, today’s song of the day, “Out On My Own.” It has the saccharine swing of an early 60s love ballad (the organ really sells it), but the group infuses it with a cool, wrong-side-of-the-tracks grit. Like the rest of the record, it’s got a boozey charm that’s undeniable.
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