The War on Drugs – Holding On (2017)

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Two War on Drugs tracks in less than a month. Well they’ve only gone and released a new single, ‘Holding On’, so what am I meant to do? Like someone has said before me, I knew I would like this track before I heard it. Before Adam Granduciel does his Bob Dylan thang, the single starts apace with a tight drum beat, synthesizers, a xylophone and never lets up. “He never gonna change; he never gonna learn…” Yeah baby. The new album A Deeper Understanding is released on 25 August.

The War On Drugs – Thinking Of A Place (2017)

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If you think nine minutes of Yo La Tengo is long… check this. It’s been a long three years since their 2014 LP Lost in the Dream, but Philly rockers The War on Drugs have decided to return with 11 minutes of ‘Thinking Of A Place’. The expansive and psychedelic sounds are the first from a new work due later this year. Will the fourth album cement Adam Granduciel as the modern-day Springsteen?

Pavement – Zurich is Stained (1992)

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I read somewhere that The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel first met erstwhile collaborator Kurt Vile at a Kurt Vile event. At that gig, Vile was was performing a very indie cover of ‘Zurich is Stained’. The song originally featured on Slanted and Enchanted, Pavement’s the classic debut album. Glorious memories from 1992.

The War On Drugs – Baby Missiles (2011)

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I saw The War On Drugs at the Brixton Academy this week. Oh my. ‘Red Eyes’, ‘Under The Pressure’, ‘An Ocean In Between The Waves’, ‘Eyes To The Wind’ – the set was unfathomably stellar. Frontman Adam Granduciel does a great job of tapping Mellencamp, Petty, Knopfler… They also played ‘Baby Missiles’ off their 2011 album Slave Ambient – you can add Springsteen to that list.