Deer Tick Deliver an Inmate’s Cautionary Tale With ‘ACI’

Accomplished folk-rock outfit Deer Tick has offered a fresh preview of their upcoming ninth studio album, Coin-O-Matic. “ACI” finds the Providence, Rhode Island, natives deliver a story-song that recalls the series of events that landed the narrator behind bars.

“The ACI (Adult Correctional Institutions) is the state prison system here in Rhode Island,” vocalist and guitarist John McCauley explained in a statement. “As much as it is infamous for its conditions and some of its current and former residents, it’s also somewhat of a punchline. 

“Recently, there was a problem with some of the locks malfunctioning… seriously,” he continues. “I came up with the chorus while we were jamming at a soundcheck. It stuck with me, and I decided to flesh it out and write an entire story about a neighborhood hoodlum and his best friend who commit a robbery that goes all wrong. It was my first true effort at writing a song for Coin-O-Matic, which at the time had only existed as an idea. I even talked to a few people in the legal system to make sure I got my facts straight and creatively played very little with the truth. A heartland rocker with a worm at its core.” 

“ACI, ACI, I’ma spending time down at the ACI / Precious life has gone and passed me by, while I’ve been spending time down at the ACI.”

“ACI” is the third single off Coin-O-Matic, which is set for release on June 5 via ATO Records. The 11-track LP marks the band’s first self-produced full-length project, and includes multiple guest musical contributions, including saxophone from Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin and former Deer Tick member Rob Crowell on organ.

“We’ve never been so comfortable making a record, and I think you can feel that in the performances,” vocalist and drummer Dennis Ryan, who also engineered the album, shares. “We weren’t beholden to anyone else’s idea of what Deer Tick sounds like, and because of that, this album feels like an unfettered capturing of who we are as a band.” 

Deer Tick, Coin-O-Matic

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1. “Dog Years”
2. “Mary Singletary”
3. “Endless Loop”
4. “Sweetest Thing”
5. “ACI”
6. “Everything Born”
7. “Eyelid”
8. “I Am an Island”
9. “507 Smith”
10. “Exit Door”
11. “Candy Cigarettes”

ALBUM OUT JUNE 5 VIA ATO RECORDS

Alongside the new track, Deer Tick has shared its accompanying mixed media music video, directed by Colin Devin Moore.

“We shared frames with friends, fans, and family, who generously reimagined the footage one frame at a time, without direction – intentionally out of our control,” shares Moore. “What came back is a collage of styles that reflects the people who made it as much as the song itself. When combined, the results feel unstable – like memory, or identity under pressure – which aligns with the song’s themes. It’s imperfect, inconsistent, and human on purpose. It was a real pain-in-the-ass, risky video to make, but in a time where everything is trending toward automation, I’m happy we leaned the other way. Embracing imperfection, unpredictability, and the loss of control.”

Watch the official music video for “ACI” below: