Magnetic East: The Deer Tick Sessions

Magnetic East, Ben Vaughn’s new album with Americana rockers Deer Tick, brings the same spirit of curiosity through experimentation that has defined Vaughn’s career. This time, the gimmick seemed simple: Ben would just sing, and the band would handle the rest. For an artist known for his many talents in songwriting, musicianship, composing, producing, and broadcasting, “just” was a fresh concept.

Deer Tick, who covered Ben’s “Too Sensitive For This World” on their 2019 album Mayonnaise, invited Ben to singer/guitarist John McCauley’s home studio in a Rhode Island mule barn to track the record. McCauley’s wife, GRAMMY-nominated singer and songwriter Vanessa Carlton lends her voice on two songs. The album was produced by Ben Vaughn and Deer Tick

Magnetic East marks a new high point in Ben Vaughn’s career. The mutual respect and obsession with music that Ben and Deer Tick share shines on this thoughtfully crafted collaboration.