I didn't see any growth with Deeper understanding. I still really enjoy the album but feel it's more of a fine tuning of Lost In A Dream than their next step.

Agreed. Though I’m fine with that as it’s nice to have an additional batch of similarly great songs like that.

I don’t live here anymore is a bit of a step forward but a band confident in what they do and have been successful at

the new album is a strange animal for me. i love, like you said, the step forward. it's different, but familiar. it's definitely a war on drugs album, but with a slightly different vibe.

but unlike the last two albums, the second half of the new album is just kind of there. nothing grabs me in those second-half songs. the first half though? amazing.

Second half is a grower and really leans on the lyrically content for me. Occasional is lights out gorgeous. Love it

I’m seeing them here and in Milwaukee next month. You going to the Denver show (or Minneapolis)?

I do prefer Lost in a Dream, but I really have a deep respect and enjoyment of the approach on A Deeper Understanding. I do think it needs one more uptempo-ish song in place of a slower song. I don’t know where, and I don’t think they could get anything more stuffed in such a long album, but I was longing for a more propulsive number in there while I was listening. It’s not lacking for anything and is a real fantastic album I will certainly return to frequently. Just a note on a first listen.

Lost in a Dream, to me, seems revelatory like a Born to Run for lack of a better reference point (it sounds nothing like that album of course) - just in terms of its impact on the listener and artist.

I had the chance to get tickets to see them at Madison Square Garden and am balking due to the proximity of the Omicron spike.

Should I see them on Austin City Limits from the worst seat in the house?

Do you like them at all?
If yes, then absolutely. Say hi to preston for me. Tall drink of water with a beautiful beard.

Yea, denver show. Would love to see more but not in the cards!

We were in New York last weekend and went to two shows that were packed. We were fine; they checked vax cards and everyone wore masks. You won’t be as packed in as we were. If you mask up, you should be fine.

Not sure i can handle when they start playing arenas on a regular basis. That might hurt my heart a little. I stopped seeing/caring about the black keys around the time they started selling out arenas.

Though, if a band is deserving of it, its the war on drugs. Ill just miss seeing them in the clubs like ive been fortunate enough to.

I love them. I bought a ticket. hopefully I'll be able to see them.

Godspeed. Stop by ABGB's before or after for me thanks

I've only been to Moody Theater once, and that was only because I accidentally wandered into it somehow. No one was playing

Live Drugs

To put a sort of capstone on the first four albums (and 2 EPS), Live Drugs works as both a review of the last couple of days of listening and an exceptional performance piece. The band sounds great live, operating with much of that same wait-for-it level of building, and not losing that patience and development within the song for the sake of performance or energy. An Ocean In Between the Waves is a great way to sort of get things going in that manner. Strangest Thing also has a great build to it, and Red Eyes and Buenos Aires Beach are also highlights, but the winners here for me in terms of bringing something extra had to be Thinking or a Place, Eyes to the Wind, and Under the Pressure - which were all pretty epic performances. Loved this!

Im listening to their new one.

Its cool so far.

I Don’t Live Here Anymore

The new one! This album differs from the ones that come before it in that the songs are much more immediately accessible and the hooks are inescapably catchy, existing amongst the framework the War On Drugs have built in the 4 albums preceding it. There’s an odd 80s pop sheen to this, the flourishes at times reminding me of jangly indie era R.E.M. as well, or a scene in a typical 80s teen movie montage. And hell if it doesn’t work like a charm because even if those moments and scenes suggest a callback, the music is always moving forward. Harmonica’s Dream, I Don’t Wanna Wait, Victim, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, and Wasted are perfect examples of this, while songs like Living Proof, Rings Around My Father’s Eyes, and Occasional Rain all feel a little more familiar to the War on Drugs. On repeat listens, this album keeps its charm so I expect it to stay in rotation for quite a while.

Theyre so good.

What a run of albums from Slave Ambient through I dont live here anymore

Or really just all of them!