A decade after its release, the War on Drugs’ major breakout album still feels singular in the band’s discography.
Musician and critic Dash Lewis looks back at his time spent on the road with the band in 2014, as he watched them workshop their masterpiece while their stardom rose almost overnight.dance around themselves, each pointing accusatorially at its nearest neighbor for fucking up the tempo. They quickly regain their footing, steady but swaying like double-vision against the billowing fog of guitar and keys.
It paid off. The album marks a turning point in the War on Drugs’ sound, acknowledging the shambolic roots rock ofwhile carving out a new, distinct songwriting lane. There are hints of Springsteen, Spiritualized, Bob Dylan, Talk Talk and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The characters in Granduciel’s songs are runaways, traveling men and stranded kids, all of whom live on the dark side of the street or in the pouring rain.
Take, for example, the rendition of “Under the Pressure” from the second Bowery Ballroom show . It’s somehow both looser and more rigid than the recorded version, stripping away some of the soft-focus expansiveness and bringing the white-knuckle anxiety to the fore. During the ambient middle section, Natchez’s sax moves restlessly around the beat while distorted guitar tones tremble at the front of the mix. It lasts longer than it feels like it should, and the tension becomes excruciating.
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