Like a mountain climber who reaches the summit and immediately straps on a jetpack, The War On Drugs' ascendance to the higher echelons of the rock stratosphere refuses to lose any upward momentum. Bandleader Adam Granduciel and his Philadelphia-based wrecking crew have spent the past decade discovering a seemingly infinite number of new ways to expand their sound, adding layer after layer of sprawling instrumentation while never losing the heartland honesty that keeps the whole enterprise rooted to a soulful core.
In a new pair of stripped-down videos filmed live at BOK, the band's lived-in Philly rehearsal space, the raw talent at the heart of The War On Drugs is on open display. With the studio grandeur pulled back, Adam and the band reveal their comfortable mastery of the classic rock toolbox, turning a clutch of familiar sounds into a sincere vision that is all their own. Watch them bring out every complex emotion of album highlight “Pain” above, and see their yearning take on the epic closing track “You Don't Have To Go" below.
The new album from The War On Drugs, A Deeper Understanding, is out now on Atlantic Records.
