A Deeper Understanding

AlbumAug 25 / 201710 songs, 1h 6m 18s
Heartland Rock Indie Rock
Popular Highly Rated

After his breakthrough *Lost in The Dream*, Adam Granduciel takes things a step further. Marrying the weathered hope of Dylan, Springsteen, and Petty with a studio rat’s sense of detail, *A Deeper Understanding* feels like an album designed to get lost in, where lush textures meet plainspoken questions about life, loss, and hope, and where songs stretch out as though they\'re chasing answers. For as much as Granduciel says in words, it’s his music that speaks loudest, from the synth-strobing heartland rock of “Holding On” and “Nothing to Find” to ballads like “Clean Living” and “Knocked Down,” whose spaces are as expansive as any sound.

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8.7 / 10

The obsessive studio work of Adam Granduciel creates a hermetic experience like no other. A Deeper Understanding is his most layered and meticulous album, a twilight world in which to lose yourself.

A-

Over the last three years, The War On Drugs became one of our biggest rock ’n’ roll bands—mostly while nobody was looking. On 2014’s Lost In The Dream, the group delivered a confident statement of intent that found it plumbing the depths of AOR radio for nostalgic sounds to weave together and drown in reverb. It was…

5 / 10

8 / 10

The fourth record from the Philadelphia band follows their 2014 epic Lost in the Dream and marks their first on major label Atlantic.

Tune in and spin out, brothers and sisters. The War On Drugs new album is a dreamy album, perfect for roadtrips

A Deeper Understanding signals a more accessible The War on Drugs says David Smyth

7.2 / 10

A Deeper Understanding’s greatest asset: its ability to bridge seemingly disparate eras of sound under one weird parasol.

Our take on the latest from the Dylan-loving guitar romantics.

Filled with enough to satisfy any existing fans.

Izzi Dunn – Recycle Love, Portico Quartet – Art In The Age Of Automation, Susan Cattaneo – The Hammer & The Heart, Gogol Bordello – Seekers And Finders, and Olafur Arnalds – Eulogy For Evolution 2017

The War on Drugs' debut for Atlantic Records, A Deeper Understanding, is very much a follow-up to the group's critically acclaimed Top 30 breakthrough Lost in the Dream from three years prior.

While stylistically The War on Drugs have never released anything revolutionary, A Deeper Understanding lacks the spark of their previous releases.

7 / 10

Anyone familiar with the War on Drugs doesn't need any help identifying the Philadelphia band's influences; they're known for mixing straigh...

8.0 / 10

In 2014, indie rock's resident crank Mark Kozelek caused a minor blog uproar over his out-of-nowhere feud with Philadelphia rock band The War on Drugs.

6 / 10

Being Samantha Cameron's favourite band is a strange badge of honour to have bestowed on you if you're a bunch of slightly grizzled Americana

Adam Granduciel emerges from crippling introspection and perfectionism to serve up a set of ‘shimmering chrome dreams’ on his band’s fourth album

5 / 10

Adam Granduciel - The War On Drugs - writes great songs but this latest album, his first on a major label, is overly long and predictable.

The War on Drugs's 'A Deeper Understanding' explores self-imposed barriers rather than bracing against outside pressures.

8 / 10

Photo: Shawn.

7.0 / 10

Our review finds masterful moment creation in The War On Drugs' album 'A Deeper Understanding' but their composition spreads these moments too far apart.

75 %

Succeeds at marrying two eras which should probably never collide.

Album Reviews: The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding

4.0 / 5

The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding review: Yes! A War on Drugs guitar solo!

8 / 10