The War on Drugs (Photo by Shawn Brackbill)
The War On Drugs has embarked on a North American tour in support of their fifth studio album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, which is out now on Atlantic Records. The tour lands at The Anthem in DC on Wednesday, Feb. 2!
When frontman Adam Granduciel reflects on the making of I Don’t Live Here Anymore, he is quick to talk about the contributions of his bandmates as well as his trusted co-producer and engineer, Shawn Everett. That doesn’t exactly square with how we normally talk about this band. Adam typically is portrayed as the loner studio genius diligently pursuing the creation of heartland rock masterpieces.
But the moments that stand out most from the creation of I Don’t Live Here Anymore aren’t the solitary ones. For Adam, the new songs brought him back to the very community he had forged with his band.
“It just reminded me of all the things I love about making music,” Adam said, “collaborating with my friends, and letting everybody shine.”
Watch the official music video for “I And’ Live Here Anymore” by The War on Drugs featuring Lucius on YouTube:
On The War On Drugs’ 2017 album A Deeper Understanding, Adam sang about wanting to “find what can’t be found.” In a way, the history of this band has been a chronicle of their frontman’s ongoing search for greater meaning. Along the way, they’ve grown with each record. In the aftermath of A Deeper Understanding, they won a Grammy for Best Rock Album. The New Yorker called them “the best American ‘rock’ band of this decade.” Even The Rolling Stones recognized Granduciel’s talents, inviting him to remix their long lost collaboration with Jimmy Page, “Scarlet,” which was previously an unreleased gem from Goats Head Soup.
By any metric, The War On Drugs have made it. They are now firmly embedded in the classic rock lineage. And yet the quest for that ineffable something continues. In practical terms, Granduciel was facing a familiar quandary as work began on the new War On Drugs album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, in early 2018: What next?
Looking ahead, he was staring down his 40th birthday. He was on the verge of starting a family. And then there was the extended brotherhood of The War On Drugs, who had just spent many months on the road gelling into an excellent live act, as documented on 2020’s Live Drugs. In the 2010s, they had put out three classic studio albums in a row. But now it was time for a new statement for a new decade. That statement is I Don’t Live Here Anymore.
The War on Drugs
The Anthem
Wednesday, Feb. 2
Doors @ 6:30pm
$46/$96
All ages