The War On Drugs preview

The War On Drugs
Empty Bottle, Chicago
Friday, May 23, 2008

If The War On Drugs recall Arcade Fire, it’s a symptom of what happens when Bruce Springsteen and Sonic Youth are your biggest influences. It might explain why Arcade Fire also have a song in their repertoire that skirts Eddie & The Cruisers’ “On The Dark Side.”

“A Needle In Your Eye #16” aside, The War On Drugs’ Secretly Canadian debut, Wagonwheel Blues, still feels like a natural birth, dragging familiar chord changes or organ riffs through a Boss and noise merchant spin cycle — drying in a Kraut-rock nod. “Show Me The Coast,” “Taking The Farm,” and “There Is No Urgency” graft some mismatched sod together, though Kyle Lloyd’s hypnotic drumming eventually gets everything to meet in the same yard. Adam Granduciel’s vocals will ultimately win or lose people for their default Dylan tics, yet when they get behind the band’s rickety propulsion there’s a sense The War On Drugs are getting at something larger than they’re able to express at this point.

Blood On The Wall headline.

— Steve Forstneger

Click here to download “Taking The Farm.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly