Description
The War On Drugs announced ‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’ in 2021, their first studio album in four years.
Over the past 15 years, the band led by mastermind Adam Granduciel has steadily evolved into one of this century’s great exponents of indie rock. They bridge the gaps between the underground and the mainstream, between the blunt and the anthemic. The War On Drugs have never done this as well as they do on their fifth studio album, “I Don’t Live Here Anymore,” an unusual record about one of our most mundane yet daunting processes – persevering in the face of despair.
Just a month after their latest album, A Deeper Understanding, won the 2018 Grammy for Best Rock Album, the core of Granduciel, bassist Dave Hartley and multi-instrumentalist Anthony LaMarca retreated to Upstate New York to jam and record new demos, working outside of the predetermined roles each member plays in the live setting. These sessions proved to be extremely productive, producing early versions of some of the most immediate songs on “I Don’t Live Here Anymore.” It was the beginning of a dozen-plus session odyssey that spanned three years and seven studios, including some of rock’s greatest sound workshops like “Electric Lady” in New York and “Sound City” in Los Angeles. Bandleader Adam Granduciel and co-producer/engineer Shawn Everett spent countless hours rebuilding each piece of these songs.
One of the most memorable sessions took place in May 2019 at “Electro-Vox,” where the band’s entire lineup, augmented by keyboardist Robbie Bennett, drummer Charlie Hall and saxophonist Jon Natchez, came together to record the poignant album opener “Living Proof.” Normally, Granduciel assembles The War On Drugs’ records from a variety of overdubs, like some kind of rock ‘n’ roll puzzle. But on “Living Proof,” the piece was created in real time, as the musicians used their chemistry as a live unit to create some impromptu magic. The immediacy of the performance was appropriate for one of the most personal songs Granduciel has ever written.
2LP black vinyl Pressing
Tracklisting
Side A:
1. Living Proof
2. Harmonia’s Dream
3. Change
Side B:
1. I Don’t Wanna Wait
2. Victim
Side C:
1. I Don’t Live Here Anymore (feat. Lucius)
2. Old Skin
3. Wasted
Side D:
1. Rings Around My Father’s Eyes
2. Occasional Rain
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