The War on Drugs – Live Drugs Again
I’m a bit of a latecomer to The War on Drugs, Adam Granduciel’s Philly-based indie band. I started following them in 2017, around the release of A Deeper Understanding, an album that came along just at the right time in life for me (and now one of my favorite records). As much as I enjoyed it, I figured (being a TWoD novice) that the dark moods and intricate musicianship found across Granduciel’s music wouldn’t necessarily translate on stage. 2020’s Live Drugs proved me deeply, DEEPLY wrong. Turns out, they’re one of the best acts touring today, precisely because the live arrangements don’t faithfully mimic the studio recordings, but instead build something entirely new nearly every time the band plays them. This week, The War on Drugs is releasing its second set of concert recordings, Live Drugs Again. Culled from four years of worldwide touring and focusing on songs from the band’s last studio album, 2021’s I Don’t Live Here Anymore, Granduciel and company continue to find the best moments in their songs while on stage. Here’s my ranking of the top five new-to-us cuts on Live Drugs Again:
5) “Harmonia’s Dream” – This already-excellent song from I Don’t Live Here Anymore gained the most heft on stage of any of that album’s tracks. It kicks off Live Drugs Again with a spare synth line, then the crowd noise fades in, as if you’re rounding the corner into the venue. Tension builds much more noticeably than on the album cut, but the highlight here comes from the band’s newest member, Eliza Hardy Jones, chipping in some space-age vocals during the bridge.
4) “I Don’t Wanna Wait” – It wasn’t one of my favorites when IDLHA first came out, but Jon Natchez’s lonely sax notes really bleed through here, filling the empty spaces between sad-guy lines “Am I breaking you down?” and “I don’t wanna break everything,” driving home the pathos in Granduciel’s 80s-est of 80s-inspired mopers.
3) “Slow Ghost” – This is one of two down-shifted acoustic numbers from the IDLHA sessions, released first as a B-side, then included on 2022’s deluxe edition (the other, “Living Proof,” shows up later on Live Drugs Again). Robbie Bennett’s piano and Anthony LaMarca’s acoustic guitar beautifully balance Granduciel’s feelings of disorientation – “I’m alive in the city/I think I died in the country/Another slow ghost walking/Through the valley alone.”
2) “Burning” – Much has been made of Granduciel’s ability to execute a well-timed “WOOO!!!” during a given song. Well, this live take on the fan favorite from the band’s breakthrough record, 2014’s Lost in the Dream (and lead single from Live Drugs Again), has the singer dropping a most emphatic “WOOOOOO!!!” right after being released “from your heart again.” Never has an indecisive lover engendered such enthusiasm.
1) “In Chains” – Just like “Burning,” it’s surprising that this gem (from A Deeper Understanding) took so long to find a proper live release, but the wait was worth it. After teasing us with a “Purple Rain”-ish intro, the band launches into the saddest of Sad Dad songs, reaching its zenith with the deeply cutting “I’m in love/I’m in pain.” If you haven’t felt that dichotomy at some point, you haven’t lived.
Bonus: “Under the Pressure” is one of two holdovers from Live Drugs (along with “Pain” – both songs have fresh versions on Live Drugs Again). But it’s a necessary inclusion on this album – and this list – because it’s one of the best examples of an already-great song flourishing when fleshed out on stage (seriously – the band dedicated an entire episode of The Super High Quality Podcast, a must for obsessive fans, to the evolution of this one track: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fj2i05h2Bwxl8I1M28TnD?si=T9Lj6xaGTgK6kFlMzSAy6w). The breakdown, build-up and release during live performances on this song, capped by Charlie Hall’s crash-in on drums, is like nothing else you’ll experience (at least not in music).
The War on Drugs is Adam Granduciel (vocals, guitar), David Hartley (bass), Robbie Bennett (keys), Charlie Hall (drums), Jon Natchez (sax), Anthony LaMarca (guitar) and Eliza Hardy Jones (keyboards, backing vocals).
Go here to order Live Drugs Again (out September 13): https://shop.thewarondrugs.net/
Check out tour dates (including co-headlining shows with The National) here: https://www.thewarondrugs.net/tour
