If the leap from their 2008 debut, ‘Wagonwheel Blues’, to 2011’s ‘Slave Ambient’ was fairly staggering, then this third album does little to suggest that the ambition of Philadelphia’s The War On Drugs has shrivelled.
Spacey jangle is still in the foreground and the motorik Springsteen shtick has grown grander. Frontman Adam Granduciel has a perfect American rock voice and, soaked in reverb, it soars on this fine set of songs.
The album mutates as it progresses, its second half stuffed with slow-burning majesty that comes to overshadow the adrenal rush of early belters ‘Under The Pressure’ and ‘Red Eyes’ (video below).
Richly melodic and possessing a classicist pop sensibility, this is rock music with soul.
8/10
Words: Gareth James
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