Slave Ambient
Philadelphia’s The War On Drugs hold the perfect balance of classic rock and spaced-out indie rock. Members Kurt Vile, Charlie Hall and Kyle Lloyd departed the band at the end of 2008, leaving founding singer and guitarist Adam Granduciel to recruit drummer Mike Zanghi and bassist/guitar player Dave Hartley. Yet somehow, 2011’s *Slave Ambient* sounds a lot like 2008’s *Wagonwheel Blues*. “Best Night” sets the tone like *Nebraska*-era Springsteen as accompanied by the musicians who played on Spiritualized’s *Songs in A & E*. Throughout *Slave Ambient* there’s also a prevalent lean on Krautrock-inspired repetitions, immediately noticeable during the first song’s end jam and in the hypnotic “It’s Your Destiny.” The consecutive pulsing speeds up on “Your Love Is Calling My Name” where Granduciel’s nasal-toned croons recall a young Tom Petty under driving indie-rock oscillations braided together with some dream-pop ambience. Fans of the band’s previous penchant for anthemic epics will feel right at home with the uplifting “Come to the City.”
Philadelphia’s The War on Drugs, the vehicle of Adam Granduciel — frontman, rambler, shaman, pied piper guitarist and apparent arranger-extraordinaire, returns with 'Slave Ambient'. On their debut, the life-affirming 'Wagonwheel Blues', and the follow-up EP, 'Future Weather', The War on Drugs seemed obsessed with disparate ideas, with building uncompromised rock monuments from pieces that may have seemed like odd pairs. Folk-rock marathons come damaged by drum machines. Electronic and instrumental reprises precede songs they’ve yet to play, and Dr. Seuss becomes lyrical motivation for bold futuristic visions. Now, Granduciel has done it again, better than before: 'Slave Ambient', their proper second album, is a brilliant 47-minute sprawl of rock ’n’ roll, conceptualized with a sense of adventure and captured with seasons of bravado.
Slidin'. Ramblin'. Driftin'. Movin'. Strugglin'. The War on Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel is all of these things on Slave Ambient, the Philly outfit's second full-length release. But they're the sort of band that believes the journey is more important than the destination.
Self-defeat is hard-wired into The War On Drugs—listening to the surging murkiness of Slave Ambient, it’s clear that the drugs won. But while the Philadelphia band occasionally dulls the impact of its otherwise-invigorating spin on classic-rock heroics with one too many layers of cloudy, atmospheric dross, the songs…
There are so many distinct yet intertwined influences peppered throughout ‘Slave Ambient’ it would be remarkably easy to lose the thread altogether.
When all is said and done, Kurt Vile's exit from The War on Drugs might be the best thing that's happened to the band. Sure his songwriting talent can't be understated, but the long-haired, post-hippy's odyssey with the Violators and the success of Smoke Ring For My Halo has drawn a lot of attention to his past legacies, specifically the band he helped start. And The War on Drugs is still very much a band; helmed by Adam Granduciel, their post-Vile songs have kept them steady, and, as proven by the almost defiantly solid Slave Ambient , they can be memorable and engaging all by themselves. As expected...
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When Kurt Vile left The War on Drugs to do his own (absolutely spiffing) thing, he appointed fellow War founder Adam Granduciel a Violator, took him on tour, and inadvertently added years to Slave Ambient’s gestation.
Boss-gaze. That's where we're at in mid-2011, adrift in the post-irony, post-industry music industry, its genre barriers and business models laying by the wayside like broken levies.
Sweeping melodies and classic rock flow effortlessly through this catchy sophomore album from Philadelphia’s The War On Drugs.
A winning combination of Dylanesque vocals and ambient grooves makes the War on Drugs's second album a trip to remember, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong>
Overcast but unmistakably warm, the War on Drugs's 'Slave Ambient' comes on like a rainy summer day in the rust belt. Read our review.
<strong>Michael Hann</strong> is bowled over by a classic rock/Krautrock crossover from Philadelphia
The most I’d heard of the War On Drugs, previously, was one tune on Seattle’s own non-profit-indie-mindmeld FM station KEXP a few months ago.