Of course, that isn't so easy, as Masterchef will tell you, and it doesn't come as a surprise to know that its been a relatively long road for the 36 year old to get to this point. Originally a member of Kurt Vile's The Violators (Vile and Granduciel formed The War On Drugs initially as a side project), Lost In A Dream is his third album, the momentum nicely coalescing with a critical mass of 70s and 80s rock lovers who are also in need of something irrefutably contemporary sounding. While his previous album, 2011's Slave Ambient made minimal impact, Lost In A Dream was a giant leap forward into the mainstream. It took someone like Granduciel to remind the older folk, sub consciously or otherwise, what drew us to that music in the first place. And for younger recruits, well you have the interweb (and your parents record collections) to thank….
Hence, the perhaps not so surprising amount of older folk tonight, mingling with a healthy dose of 20 somethings, The Dome being the perfect venue ('this is nice' says Granduciel) for this kind of indie AOR. That's not to be demeaning – I'll happily air guitar or boogie to Boston's More Than A Feeling or Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon any time of day – the best AOR has re-entered the collective conscious as rock enters a new phase; the post, post-rock internet age that has the seen the wholehearted embrace of music from the ages, and the amazing comeback of vinyl…
Walking into the Dome I was once again reminded that this was the first venue that played host to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon album, perhaps the defining album of the pre-punk 70s, performed by a band at the peak of their creative powers, and a record that continues to inspire much awe, still sounds like nothing else on earth. The War On Drugs could easily be a pre-punk band, albeit of a softer hue than the Floyd. But, unlike the Floyd, this is the largely the work of one man. And despite a six-man band on stage, it feels like its his band throughout; they are his songs, he sings them, and he plays big guitar solos throughout. Looking compact on the stage – the stage set enclosing them within a semi-circle to give them an air of intimacy – they do play like a band, a very good one of course, but apart from the odd keyboard flourish, little is added to the sound bar the solid rhythm and grooves, and the occasional brass note or two. Which is shame because many of the more nuanced ambient passages of the Lost In A Dream album are, er, lost tonight, the psychedelic and dreamy washes are somewhat relegated tonight, particularly on tracks such as Under the Pressure and Disappearing . And, where you might hope for that wind-in-your-hair euphoria, so expertly caught on record, on songs such as the Dylanesque Eyes to the Wind, tonight the guitars tend to overwhelm, although the songs do still chug away in a pleasing manner, the audience generally nodding their heads politely, if not ecstatically. You can't really help do otherwise to the motorik rhythmic numbers such as Red Eye and An Ocean Between The Waves. But there does seem to be an awfully large number of guitar solos on show, on almost every song, played on a myriad of guitars (the guitar tech is busy busy busy), and with a large array of effects, transforming the brilliantly crafted, nuanced and multi-faceted Lost In A Dream album into more of a one way street. There's no doubt that the The War On Drugs sound IS dense, and therefore difficult to translate effectively into the live arena. And there is no doubt Granduciel is one hell of a player, able to both gently caress and let rip, exuding much melodic backbone in the process. But the record doesn't have nearly as many, and some of the ones it does have are more subtle, back in the mix, and sympathetically part of the piece, rather than its centrepiece. And it's all the better for it.
Of course, for those who have heard but not seen The War on Drugs before, expectations might be ratcheted up a little too much, to the point where even Adam Granduciel appears to be surprised at all this sudden attention. As the current flag-bearers for sophisticated rock, where musicality is at the fore, the application of a generally successful marrying of guitar pyrotechnics, a smooth and unfussy rhythm section, and a handful of great songs that are warm and engaging is a winning formula that has seen them win a tremendous wave of plaudits. Its just that live, it hasn't quite gelled yet…
Jeff Hemmings
Website: thewarondrugs.net
Facebook: facebook.com/thewarondrugs
Twitter: twitter.com/thewarondrugs