I Don't Live Here Anymore - The War On Drugs: Review
The War On Drugs
are a Philly band whose blend of psychedelic rock, heartland rock and indie made for a break-out moment on their 2014 album Lost In The Dream. On top of being a critical darling and massive hit among indie fans the band became a highly sought after live act and went on to win a Grammy with their next album A Deeper Understanding.
Review By Lav:
I know there were plenty of people aware of The War On Drugs before 2014, but I was right in the thick of their breakout and it's unlike anything else I've ever seen. Lost In The Dream was an album that delivered the expansive instrumental palette and compositional dexterity that indie fans crave, but also had the psychedelic soundscapes and soaring hooks of a classic rock staple. Everybody I knew loved this record, from experimental music fans who were in an edgy "Pink Floyd actually sucks ass" phase to commercial radio listeners high off of Foo Fighters and Imagine Dragons. I loved the hell out of that album. Obviously this sets you up with pretty big expectations but I think it's safe to say the band delivered. Their follow-up record led off with the 12 minute lead single Thinking Of A Place, one of my favorite songs of the entire 2010's. The album itself ended up being pretty good as well. In the back of my mind and in the lead up to this album though I couldn't help but think that the bands defining sound may be more of a puddle than an ocean, albeit a pretty compelling puddle. Adam doesn't have what I'd call a distinct prescence as a frontman and after listening to some of the bands early records again for my 2011 videos this year, I'm not sure they are all that capable of making any kind of drastic shifts.
With all that being said I Don't Live Here Anymore has the musicality you'd expect from the band and a number of highlights that fans will be crazy about. But it's the most personality devoid War On Drugs album since their early days and fails to deliver some truly difference making moments that set their last two albums apart from good to great.
Let's start with what the band does perfectly because that's how they got this whole era started off with the lead single Living Proof. It's a swaying indie rock cut with heartland flavors that feels like it's designed in a lab to be an album opener. It saunters through a very "of the moment" instrumental bridge that closes with a hazy psychedelic guitar solo and while everything is a bit tame on the surface it adds up to a bright and wonderfully pleasant introduction. Change is a track I've seen a lot of people really enjoying and it's easy to see why once it kicks off with a distinctly indie sounding jangle and a great Brandon Flowers impression. I love how the rush of guitar reverb and huge sounding nature metaphors make the song feel so much larger than life and every time I hear it I end up enjoying it more.
Wasted is a song that I find it impossible to complain about. It has memorable refrains, a shimmering synth line and explosive percussion. On top of it all the hook is a memorable eruption of hooky refrains that ties it all together well. The closing track wasn't quite the expansive finale I was anticipating but I still think it's one of the best songs here. Adam does some of his best singing and songwriting on the track and manages to both show his vulnerable side while also displaying plenty of charisma. I know almost every song here has a psychedelic instrumental bridge but even at the conclusion of the record I'm still enjoying it.
There are obviously a number of other tracks on the record that at the very least do something well. Harmonia's Dream is a very conventional song from the band with the much deeper instrumental arrangement and a Springsteen like rise on the hook. While it is a bit too long for it's own good it still does the formula justice. I Don't Wanna Wait on the other hand gets off to a pretty slow start but I've come around on the second half quite a bit. We get some of Adam's most spiteful and aggressive vocal refrains on the entire album and the walls of guitars on the bridge really add some grit to the track. I Don't Live Here Anymore was the third single and the most that The War On Drugs has ever sounded like The 1975, at least at the start. The song eventually graduates into a really triumphant and even inspiring hook and I have to give it credit for some of the thematic work it does lyrically to help tie some of the albums core concepts together.
Old Skin is the records attempt at a power ballad based on finding your place in the world and employs a metaphor of peeling away old skin pretty effectively. It does have a build at its core but I don't think it ever quite reaches the level I hoped it would. Rings Around My Fathers Eyes is the most purely forgettable track on the record that sounds decent but mostly lacks in any riffs, lyrics or refrains that grab me that much. Victim is the worst song here, it's 6 minutes long but man does it feel a lot longer. The wandering instrumentals feel much more like aimless noodling than anything actually composed, the masculine honking that Adam delivers vocally is funny but in a way I don't think he intended and the thin wiry distortion on the guitars sounds painfully out of place. If you make it to the harmonica you really are a trooper.
I Don't Live Here Anymore is a good record, if you've been a fan of the band up to this point you'll be a fan of this. The only difference is that it never really takes the big steps towards making it a classic outing. While the bands fundamentals are obviously strong they are resting on them a little too much and the records thematic concept of moving on and finding your place in the world failed to tie these tracks together in a compelling way. And with that I find myself pretty much out of things to say about the record. I have a feeling that in a few years the band will return bigger and better than ever. 7/10
This cover is strange but I'm into it. The disjointed composition works and draws your eye directly to the subject and branding. I love the texture of the snow making up the white background. The colors are a little weird when put together and it could've helped by desaturating the blue in the branding. Overall it's successful. 6.5/10
For more indie rock check out my review of Parquet Courts' Sympathy For Life here
