Deer Tick

Tue., July 20, 9 p.m., $12, with Wye Oak, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 877-435-9849, johnnybrendas.com.

by Patrick Rapa

folk/rock/pop

Young dudes with old-man voices. Is there no cure for this vocal affliction which reduces our clean-cut college indie types — our Felice Brothers, the Wolf Colonel, even The Tallest Man on Earth — into crooked-backed four-packs-a-day hackmen wheezing at the moon? Until a remedy is discovered, let's take solace in the occasional silver linings. Like Deer Tick's grizzled twentysomething frontman, John J. McCauley III, whose quavering rasp recalls a young ol' Billy Corgan: plagued by angst and anguish, even during the happy songs. Their new one, The Black Dirt Sessions (Partisan), is every bit as hoary and clangy as 2009's Born on Flag Day (which makes sense; they were recorded at the same time). And, even if you're not into McCauley's straining and grating, you'll appreciate his smart, heartfelt take on Americana. Just like pappy used to play.