If you like: My Morning Jacket, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan
The War on Drugs is a Alternative/Indie Rock band from Philadelphia, created in 2003 by a pair of Bob Dylan fans, Adam Granduciel and Kurt Vile. They met at a party, and discovered they shared a fascination with the Bard of Minnesota, and began working on songs together. In 2005, the two had produced enough material to officially launch their band.
At first, Granduciel and Vile fronted the band, with several other members drifting in and out of the lineup. They eventually settled on a stable lineup consisting of Granduciel on vocals, guitar, and keyboards; Vile on guitar and vocals; Charlie Hall on organ and drums; Dave Hartley on bass, and Kyle Lloyd on drums and percussion.
After The War On Drugs became a frequent part Philadelphia music scene, the band completed its debut EP, a five-song set in 2007 called Barrel of Batteries, posted online as a free download.
Barrel of Batteries had bothpositive press for both the EP and their live shows, catching the attention of the independent label Secretly Canadian, which signed the band. In June 2008, they released their first full-length album, Wagonwheel Blues. Though the stable lineup soon fell apart, as Vile, Hall, and Lloyd all left the group, with Vile pursuing a solo career soon after. Check out the video for “Neeedle In You Eye” from Wagonwheel Blues below:
After the losing over half its members, The War On Drugs added drummer Mike Zanghi to the lineup, joining Granduciel and Hartley. They continued as a three piece, and recorded a mini-album called Future Weather in 2010. The song “Comin’ Through” from Future Weather is a bit more mellow than what we heard from the previous album, almost feeling like a Fleetwood Mac song at times. Listen and watch the video below!
Multi-instrumentalist Robbie Bennett joined the War on Drugs for their 2nd full album in 2011, Slave Ambient, which gained the band a lot of recognition. You can especially hear the Bob Dylan influence in “Brothers,” which is one of the best tracks on that album. Watch the official music video below!
While touring Slave Ambient, Granduciel started working on their third LP, which took nearly two years to complete. Lost in the Dream was released in early 2014. Here is one of their most popular songs from that album, “Red Eyes.”
Also from the album Lost in the Dream, this is an absolutely beautiful track… very Springsteen-esque. Here is the official video for “Under the Pressure.”
They spent much of the next two years making multiple passes through the U.S., Canada, and Europe on tour… then set to work on another album! In April 2017 The War On Drugs returned with the 11-minute single “Thinking of a Place,” released for Record Store Day.
The track will be included on their upcoming album, Deeper Understanding, due out August 25 of 2017, and it will be the band’s first album on Atlantic Records. Here is a track you’ll be hearing on 106.3 Radio Lafayette – from their upcoming album, this is the official video for “Holding On” – musically it has a Grateful Dead vibe to it… funny because they actually have a Grateful Dead cover… ooh! Be listening for that in an upcoming “Under the Covers” segment!
