The War On Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore

12-11-2021

The War on Drugs is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 2005. The band has been described as indie rock, heartland rock and neo-psychedelia, as well as part of the Americana music. Mixing the grand-scale guitar attack of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine with a melodic sense and lyrical perspective that recall Bob Dylan roaring down Highway 61, Philadelphia's the War on Drugs slowly grew from indie favorites to a hit with larger, more mainstream audiences. The band's moody but straightforward guitar rock echoed some of the most captivating elements of Tom Petty, Dire Straits, and several phases of Dylan's journey, placing them more and more in line as torchbearers of the American roots rock sound on albums like 2017's Grammy-winning "A Deeper Understanding" and 2021's "I Don't Live Here Anymore". "I Don't Live Here Anymore" is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band The War on Drugs. It was released on October 29, 2021, through Atlantic Records. The album was co-produced by frontman Adam Granduciel and Canadian engineer Shawn Everett. With their meticulously crafted and infinitely layered 2017 album "A Deeper Understanding", the War on Drugs added new levels of atmosphere and detail to their '80s blue collar rock-inspired sound. Centered around the songwriting and vision of bandleader Adam Granduciel, the War on Drugs had looked to roots rock heroes like Dylan, Springsteen, Petty, and the like from the time they started, but "A Deeper Understanding" married the band's ever-present echoes of Reagan-era FM radio hits with an almost overwhelmingly dense approach to arrangement, with Granduciel stacking the songs with tightly organized sounds that gave the entire album a sense of magnitude and precision. Fifth album "I Don't Live Here Anymore" takes a different path, sounding looser and less-toiled over without losing any of the detail that keeps Granduciel's songs from being mere re-creations of '80s best-sellers from the rock section of the Columbia House records club. The album opens with one of its best songs, and also one of its gentlest, "Living Proof." Distant acoustic guitar strums, soft piano chords, and Granduciel's plainly delivered Dylan-esque vocals slowly open up into an arrangement that adds organ, steady bass, and atmospheric percussion. The song never builds but instead offers a restrained overture for an album that blasts off from that point forward. Rockers like "Harmonia's Dream," "Change," and "Wasted" bounce along excitedly, pairing bright synth lines with upbeat tempos, almost Krautrock-like rhythm section pulses, and occasional dashes of piano reminiscent of Don Henley, adding touches of cinematic melancholy to balance out the songs' uplifting melodic qualities. The title track is anthemic in the same way, upping the ante on all of the band's usual reference points by leaning into huge drum fills saturated with gated reverb (the classic '80s sound) and several blatant lyrical references to Bob Dylan. The choruses soar with guest backup vocals from Lucius, perfecting the song's lonely, searching vibe while it replicates the same wistful feel of a Springsteen video set at a county fair in 1986. Only occasionally does the album retreat into the moodiness that was prevalent throughout "A Deeper Understanding", but there are some thoughtful, slower songs like "Old Skin," and the plodding, mysterious "I Don't Wanna Wait" begins with Talk Talk-style atmospheres and an ominous drum machine borrowed directly from Phil Collins' ubiquitous "In the Air Tonight." I Don't Live Here Anymore is a warmer, friendlier reading of the sound that could feel impenetrable on the War on Drugs' last album. On top of the more accessible production, this record also boasts some of Granduciel's most immediate songs, making it some of the best work from a band with a near-spotless track record. Gone are the days when The War On Drugs was a ramshackle rock group whose albums sounded like they had been recorded with dilapidated equipment in Adam Granduciel's kitchen. What started as a great indie rock band in Philadelphia in 2005 grew into one of the most popular groups in rock music. Despite all the quality of their first albums, the real breakthrough came in 2014 with the single "Red Eyes" and the album "Lost In The Dream". Successor "A Deeper Understanding" from 2017 was received by a wide audience as a classic and definitively opened the doors to the big stages. We are now four years later and many people have been eagerly awaiting the new album. We can reassure them: The War On Drugs still lives up to expectations. Fans of the early days who like messy sing-alongs like "Buenos Aires Beach" or whining indie rock like "Brothers" might be a bit disappointed, because "I Don't Live Here Anymore" sounds flawless again, just like the previous two records. It is clear that the gentlemen continue to invest their hard-earned royalties in their recordings, because the sound quality is once again to die for. Yet the album has not been flat-produced. You still have the feeling that you are listening to a real group. It is with this credibility that The War On Drugs distinguishes itself from other stadium bands. That authenticity is already fully apparent in album opener and first single "Living Proof"; a sparse acoustic guitar, an unctuous piano and a radiant electric guitar sound as if they are being played in your room. When Adam Granduciel enters with a melancholic text, you immediately hang on his every word. In all the modesty that "Living Proof" exudes, The War On Drugs sounds bigger than ever. With "Harmonia's Dream" the group then builds up perfectly to a masterly song as we are used to from them. Ample time is taken to work out synth melodies and to let guitar solos spin out for a wonderfully long time. Like no other, Granduciel and his companions know how to build up a song without slipping into excess. The eighties still seem to be an important reference period for the six. Not the dubious pop music of the era, but the classic rock such as Dire Straits, Genesis and Bruce Springsteen. "I Don't Wanna Wait" exudes a lot of eighties vibes, but with its tearing guitar intermezzos it is also one of the highlights of the album. So expect a lot of people who are at the back of the festival field to play air guitar during the performances of The War On Drugs in the summer. Both young people and their parents, because just like classical bands, the group knows how to appeal to a wide audience. There's only one thing you can fault The War On Drugs for, and that's that they aren't going in many new directions. For example, a song like "Wasted" contains all the elements we are used to from the band; that tight rhythm, those twinkling synths and guitars that reverberate as Granduciel sings a longing text. It might as well have been on the previous albums. Is that bad? No, because the quality always remains high. The group never misses the ball. Among all the strong songs, single "" is actually the least because the repetitive guitar riff is just a bit too simple compared to the crackers we are used to from the group. Although the notion of 'least song on the album' should be taken with a grain of salt, because the melodic richness and the harmony vocals with the ladies of Lucius open the gates of pop heaven wide open. Even though few new paths are explored on "I Don't Live Here Anymore", The War On Drugs manages to hold the attention for ten songs. On "Victim" a glowing Fender Rhodes organ takes center stage, on the fabulous "Old Skin" it has haunting lyrics, a hypnotic piano melody and a melodic explosion in the second half of the song. The acoustic "Rings Around My Father's Eyes" is an understated gem and we can only say that closing track "Occasional Rain" feels like a comforting arm over the shoulder. Great class. With "I Don't Live Here Anymore" The War On Drugs adds another strong album to their discography. Just like their previous records, the new long player is best consumed as a whole. Sit back, close your eyes and immerse yourself in the sparkling melancholy of The War On Drugs. The world of "I Don't Live Here Anymore" is a wonderful place to dive into and we will linger there for a while.

1 Living Proof

Mellotron - Michael Bloch

Organ - Anthony LaMarca

2 Harmonia's Dream

Drums, Percussion - Patrick Berkery

Guitar - James Elkington

Keyboards - Dave Hartley

Music By - Bennett

3 Change

Music By - LaMarca, Hartley

Piano - Lee Pardini

4 I Don't Wanna Wait