“It’s just a dream that we had once, it went down in the night.”
The haunting words from the War on Drugs’ second album seem to typify the experience of seeing the band live.
There are many references to dreaming on the band’s latest effort as well and not just on its title, Lost In The Dream. “But a dream like this gets wasted without you” on ‘Under the Pressure’ and “Lost in the dream / Or just the silence of the moment / It’s always hard to tell” on the title track. For the lucky few to be packed into this sold-out Meredith sideshow, the War on Drugs’ set was a two-hour long serene, blissful dream: an escape from reality.
The band must love Australia’s summer. This is the third December in a row that the War on Drugs have graced our shores, and the shows just keep getting bigger. In a testament to the lasting popularity of Lost In The Dream, they’ve upgraded from the intimate Northcote Social Club in 2012 and 2013, to three sold out shows: two at the expansive 170 Russell, and this one at the Hi Fi.
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Melbourne heroes Twerps provided the only support of their night, with their charmingly raw and imperfect brand of pop easing the crowd into the night. The four-piece are hard not to love, and gave a refreshing set consisting of a lot of material from their latest album, Underlay.
Immediately after Twerps’ set drew to a close, there was an immediate push towards the front of the venue, as the eager crowd began to prepare for the main act.
Since releasing their debut in 2008, War on Drugs have enjoyed a cult following of sorts, without ever really finding mainstream popularity. That was until the 18th of March, 2014. The release of their third album, Lost In The Dream plummeted the Philadelphians into the global spotlight, reaching audiences that they never had before. And for good reason. It’s an expertly crafted, sprawling masterpiece exploring the depths of the human psyche during troubling times. They’re certainly not just Kurt Vile’s old band anymore.
With a Metacritic rating of 86/100, meaning ‘universal acclaim’, it’s by far their most popular and well-received album to date. Listed as the album of the year by Paste, and hit second place on Mojo’s, American Songwriter’s, Music OMH’s and Stereogum’s end of year lists. It’s subtle and understated, and takes many, many listens to truly discover its beauty.
As the anticipation in the crowd began to grow, the six-piece band casually strolled onto stage, effortlessly built up a simmering mess of noise, before frontman Adam Granduciel broke into the opening chords of ‘In Reverse’, a standout from Lost In The Dream. This went straight into ‘An Ocean in Between the Waves’, and before you knew it, it was twenty minutes into the show, and only two songs down. It was immediately clear what sort of night this would be. It was filled with hazy, droning and mesmerising jams, allowing each musicians to showcase their talent.
Apart from muffled ‘thank you’s’ after nearly every song, and a brief discussion of what to expect at Meredith, there’s no audience interaction, but it’s not the sort of show that needs it.
The band often seem lost in their a world of their own creation, but easily manage to welcome the audience into it. Granduciel’s vocals float above the wall of noise that was often created behind it, and every single not is intricately and expertly crafted.
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Lost In The Dream was written during a period of loneliness and depression for Granduciel after finishing extensive touring. The album has a pervading sense of melancholy that contrasts with the sometimes upbeat music, and this translates brilliantly live.
After hearing a request for ‘Eyes to the Wind’, Granduciel revealed that: “we’re gonna do that later. We never do it but we’re gonna play it tonight.” What followed was a special rendition of the song, beginning only on piano, and showing a different side to the Philadelphian’s vocals.
The main set aptly concluded with the title track from their acclaimed latest album, but the inevitable encore focused more on their second release, Slave Ambient. The two concluding songs, ‘Black Water Falls’ and ‘Brothers’ proved that War on Drugs have been a great band for much longer than just this year.
It was a show that also proved that one of the best and most acclaimed albums of the year doesn’t just live up to the hype live, it’s actually better experienced live.
