“Lose yourself in your mind” Adam Granduciel intones on opening song “Brothers”, over layers of rich, deep driving guitar.
The phrase could serve as a good introduction to The War on Drugs’ modus operandi, which is to create an immersive sound that you can totally get lost in.
“Brothers” is one of a number of their songs that bring to mind Neil Young and Crazy Horse at their freewheeling best.
There are many Americana touchstones you could mention (Bruce Springsteen and Tom Pretty are other names that frequently recur in reviews of their records), but there’s a real freshness and vitality to The War on Drugs, as well as a capacity to inject satisfying noise attacks into their songs that prevents them from ever coming across as a mere retro act.
Even when revisiting familiar tropes like the road as a symbol of freedom, they never feel second hand or tired.
They can do swagger as well, as seen on the bluesy, strutting “Taking The Farm” where the lyrics repeat and build on images of highways and the ocean to gradually build up momentum, ending in a furious blur of drumming as an adventurous bass line and swathes of keyboard add texture to the sound.
“I Was There” nods to classic rock, while the epic feel of “Black Water Falls” is testament to their ambition and dense, enveloping sound.
They often sound much bigger than a four-piece, with Granduciel’s busy guitar work adding dramatic flourishes to the chugging rhythms of the likes of “Your Love Is Calling My Name” and “Arms Like Boulders”.
A particular standout is “Best Night”, a song which combines impressionistic lyrics (“It’s a dream so hold a knife”) with a celebratory zeal and, like almost everything they do, has a boisterous feel that makes it instantly engaging.
While there are a couple of nods to the first two albums, the highest points come from last year’s addictive Slave Ambient, a record dominated by a feel of freedom, epic jams and imagery of the open road.
“Come To The City” is commanding, a rocking call to arms that grabs you by the collar and doesn’t let go, while “Baby Missiles”, which appears on both that record and the Future Weather EP, is another song to favour a haze of impressionistic details over specifics – ending in a messy, cathartic tangle of reverb.
Late in the set, they reach back to “Buenos Aires Beach”, one of the highlights of debut record Wagonwheel Blues, which shows they can also take the foot off the pedal and settle into a more mellow, beautifully reflective groove when called for.
Another cut from that record “A Needle In Your Eye #16”, ends the set and sees them locating the missing link between droning art rock and Americana to great effect.
More than living up to the promise of music to lose yourself to, The War on Drugs’ arty, noisy take on the American road trip makes for a satisfying set from start to finish.
