Our governing administration may have changed, but international interest in The War On Drugs hasn’t faltered a bit. Powered by distinctive frontman Adam Granduciel, The War on Drugs were spawned in the brilliance of their practiced support for Kurt Vile as his backing band “The Violators”. After peacefully breaking away from Vile to start their own journey under the name The War On Drugs, they soon developed a cult following through priding themselves on incessantly meticulous songwriting to conjure dreamy chord patterns that leave listeners in an indie-filled trance. Their stunning and appropriately named 2014 debut album Lost In The Dream drips with amalgamated sweat and tears left over from a broken relationship and the challenging process of revival amidst a taxing, content-driven lifestyle.

Songs like “Under The Pressure” typify the phantasm that defines Lost In The Dream. It’s never-ending whim is a slow, extensive, serotonin-filled pupil dilator that acts less as purgative release and more as a pleasant excuse to mentally drift away. The final three minutes can certainly be off-putting with a windy and vibrating continuation of broken notes and wavy disorganization. Further consideration however, reveals possible artistic representations of either some sort of disruptive collapse under aforementioned pressure, or the confusing yet freeing lift of opaque thoughts in a now open mind.

With the new year comes exciting new content for The War On Drugs, who have recently released a series of singles that are turning heads across multiple circuits. The most notable new track “Thinking Of A Place” goes as close to overboard as possible without stepping off the plank, acting as an exuberantly hedonistic 11+ minute answer to the consumptive delay between releases. It would be an understatement to say that the potential upside for this talented group is far greater than most.