The War on Drugs
(Secretly Canadian)
On the new War on Drugs album, singer/songwriter/bandleader Adam Granduciel seems to be channeling a lot of things, all of them good. The Boss and Dylan are the usual recognizable suspects in his slow, bluesy, psychedelic indie-meets-'80s-rock and nonchalant, nasal vocals. But The Grateful Dead's legacy makes a surprise appearance here and there as well, with some meandering, country-fried jamming underpinning the solid songwriting, such as on the piano-heavy "I Was There."
Slave Ambient is slower paced and more methodical in many ways than The War on Drugs' stunning 2008 debut, Wagonwheel Blues. It retains some of the latter's ambient noise wash, a clear nod to bands like Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine, spaced in between and in the midst of songs. And there are a few memorable barnstormers like the driving "Baby Missiles" and the snare-cracking "Your Love is Calling My Name," a song that picks up where Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" left off.
But Granduciel seems less concerned with individual tracks than with creating a holistic atmosphere, a tactic not often played in the current climate of blog-friendly one-offs. In other words, this is an album best listened to from start to finish, as the songs bleed into one another, creating an inexorably moody audio experience. Once again, The War on Drugs have crafted an album of the year, built not upon flash or novelty, but a new take on traditional rock and roll that is always pushing forward.
DOWNLOAD: "Baby Missiles," "Brothers" JONAH FLICKER
