The War On Drugs Release Live Album, First ‘Super High Quality Podcast’ Episode
The War On Drugs released the first episode of The Super High Quality Podcast to coincide with their latest release, a live album entitled LIVE DRUGS. The release is made up of various multi-track recordings through the years of touring their Lost In The Dream and A Deeper Understanding projects.
The first episode of the podcast — which is spectacular and professionally produced — is a behind the scenes look at how the Lost In The Dream favorite “Eyes To The Wind” transformed and evolved to become breezier and more disciplined while simultaneously loose and malleable based on how the band feels on any given night. It is a remarkable look into the thought process of a band that is at the top of their game while furiously touring the world, all while trying to find the same wavelength to lock into — reminding us mere mortals that sometimes the best moments happen on a whim, and the wavelength is locked into accidentally. The War On Drugs have been one of the best live rock bands in the world since the breakthrough of Lost In The Dream, and if the three subsequent episodes of the podcast are similar in theme, the proverbial curtain will have been lifted on what it’s like for six guys on stage all seeking the same result. The magic, however, will thankfully and inevitably remain obscured.
Halfway through the first episode, multi-instrumentalist Anthony LaMarca remarks, “It’s like, six guys having a blast,” and that sentiment is quite obvious when listening to the podcast’s accompanying live material, LIVE DRUGS. The live album is a triumph within itself, giving fans of the band souped-up, re-imagined, and extended cuts of the songs we’ve grown to know so well from their excellent discography. Lead singer/guitar player and visionary Adam Granduciel is notorious for tinkering and re-tinkering with the material the band has laid out for their studio albums, but as bass player (“lead bass” as Adam so endearingly introduces him on the live album) Dave Hartley points out, “this is a song that was never going to be its truest self until it deviated from the recording because the recording had something raw and immediate about it … by its very nature, executing that over and over again can’t be done. To capture the spirit of the recording, you actually need to deviate from it.”
The active push forward and search for magical moments on tour cannot be easy night after night, but — one could argue — is a requirement for a band that wants to reach new heights collectively, and with the live album, The War On Drugs are showcasing just that. Dipping all the way back into 2008’s debut Wagonwheel Blues, “Buenos Aires Beach” is featured on the collection along with a cover of the great Warren Zevon’s “Accidentally Like A Martyr” which has been a part of the bands live sets since 2017. The band’s standout live track, featured here at almost 12 minutes long, is the Lost In The Dream opener “Under The Pressure.” Hartley states, “we have a lot of songs where it’s about cruising and finding the pulse, and trying to hold it for so long, almost hypnotically,” which is the exact category “Pressure” fits into. The tension and release of the live version is palpable and displays some of the best elements and moments the band has to offer. When juxtaposed against the free-flowing and triumphant “Eyes To The Wind,” it’s not hard to see why The War On Drugs have become one of the world’s most exciting bands.
LIVE DRUGS is available for purchase, and is streaming everywhere now.
The accompanying ‘Super High Quality Podcast’ is available where ever you get your podcasts.
Featured image: “The War on Drugs ::: Ogden Theatre ::: 10.10.14” by Julio Enriquez is licensed under CC BY 2.0