Deer Creek's Menticide Is a Slab of Doom

Paul Vismara plays guitar, sings and makes art for Denver band Deer Creek. The group’s songs fall comfortably in the doom- or stoner-rock realm, and although Vismara writes the lyrics to the songs, it’s the sound that means the most to him as an artist.

“If you have amazing lyrics but a lousy melody and mediocre music, you have a mediocre or possibly bad song,” Vismara says. “If the music and melody aren't there, then who cares what you're singing about?”

Deer Creek’s full-length album Menticide is available on vinyl via bandcamp.com. The record is the first appearance of drummer Marc Brooks, and the band considers the record to be a big jump forward in its sonic styling.

Vismara, who is joined in Deer Creek by Brooks, bassist Stephanie Hopper and guitarist/vocalist Conan Hultgren, says he endeavors to keep analyzing and tweaking the melodies to get the songs in the best shape possible. “The band provides input, feedback and ideas to further round them into shape,” he adds. “I'm always willing to tear things apart and rebuild them, if necessary.”



“(It Had Neither Fins Nor Wings) Nor Did It Writhe,” the first song on Menticide, is an old song that Vismara tore apart, wrote new melodies for and rebuilt into something he thinks is much better. “Just this week, Conan and I introduced new parts to two songs for our next album, because those songs just weren't quite right,” he says. “Once that foundation is in place, I solidify my melodies. At that point, I finally become obliged to write actual lyrics.”

Deer Creek used to jam a lot more and work on songs at practice, but now Vismara spends "much more time writing riffs and working on songs at home,” he says. “The latter method seems to produce quicker results, at least for me.”

And throughout the band’s twenty years of playing in Denver, Vismara says, his lyrics have carried similar themes. “I would jokingly say that [we were] singing about ‘the man’ and relationships and the plight of workers, the difficulties we all face going through the challenges of everyday life,” he says. “Those are themes that pop up in our music all the time and can certainly be found on Menticide.”

Vismara says that a song like “(It Had Neither Fins Nor Wings) Nor Did It Writhe” addresses the deceptions that people encounter in politics. “That one was particularly pointing toward our frustrations we have with politicians, and just the political scene we live in,” he says. The album's second track, “Peace on Earth,” is less morose. Vismara calls it his “love song.”

“It’s a little happier than some of the other ones,” he acknowledges. “‘It’s Rotten’ is about environmental devastation. ‘A Dark, Heartless Machine’ has kind of an anti-war sentiment.”

Vismara also created the album's artwork, which displays silhouettes of figures hanging from mushroom caps as soldiers pass by underneath. He says that as soon as a viewer or listener connects with art, it becomes theirs in a way. With that in mind, he tries to write vaguely enough to allow for individual interpretations.

“If a lyricist says, ‘I took their hand and we walked down to the river,’ the listener is picturing whose hand they’re taking and what the river looks like,” he explains. “It’s become their song. If they connect with those lyrics, they are connecting with it in a way that means something to them.”

Check out Deer Creek’s Bandcamp page for more releases.