10 Best Rock Albums Of 2021
2. I Don’t Live Here Anymore – War On Drugs
If it ain't broke, don't fix it, that seemed to be Adam Granduciel mind set when approaching his latest endeavour with the War On Drugs.
Granduciel hasn't reinvented the wheel with this record, in-fact he's more firmly imbedded in the delicate ambience, the War On Drugs has come to represent. But sticking to a similar format, far from feeling derivative, has allowed him to really refine his sound.
Stripping away all but the bare essential elements, Granduciel has created the dreamy escape, he seems to be searching for in his lyrics. If you're not careful you might vanish into a dream-like ambient bliss listening to this record.
As is the current trend with many musicians, the 1980s element has been turned up to 11. The synthy pop-rock thing is in fall flow, and although War On Drugs have always borrowed from the heartland rock sound, they've layered it on heavy here.
Lyrically, it's much the same as before, with ambiguous word play and anxious musings on life. Granduciel does, however, leave you somewhat confused with lines like "Like when we went to see Bob Dylan we danced to Desolation Row”.
For anyone not familiar with the song, Desolation Row is the last Dylan track you'd dance to...