Motoric Dylenesque country folk ambience comes together for The War on Drugs’ new album, Slave Ambient. However, Adam Granduciel’s vocals sound a lot like Bob Dylan in his early days, which isn’t really a bad thing, but it could be a bit of a poison chalice as it’s easy to write them off because the sound is so familiar.
Best Night opens up the album low key and country folk with modern twists. There’s also a vague hymnal quality to the song, but it’s not immediately gripping. The extended outro is long and a little too empty to keep your attention.
Brothers is also a bit on the sober side and the Dylan vocal are particularly emphasised, which sounds great, but you’re left with the feeling that it’s a bit too crafted.
I Was There is yet another slow singe and by this time you just want something to happen, like a head punch or a Lynx fuelled nympho onrush or even just a nice cup of tea in the parlour, but it just seeps to its inevitable plodding ending. The harmonica solo reinforces the Dylan inspired conceptualisation of the band and does more to take away than it does to attract.
Your Love is Calling My Name changes all that slightly with a motoric drive to the drum beats that sounds a bit Arcade Fire. The rest of the sound is sparse to begin with, except Granduciel’s throaty vocals, which keep you buckled in. It’s the interlude changeover that makes Your Love is Calling My Name so much more inspired than earlier tracks as it builds back up to strut out the rest of the song with ambient atmospherics whipping around in the distance.
Your Love is Calling My Name flows easily into the amorphous landscape of The Animator, which flows once more into Come to the City. It’s one of the best songs on the album, fusing a lot of brilliance into it’s 4.5. The robo arm drums courtesy of Mike Zanghi are back again and the vocals are much more distinct and unique.
The War On Drugs, Come To The City music video:
Come For It is a random snatch of ambience, and sadly It’s Your Destiny returns to the semi-cliche of Brothers and I Was There for You. City Reprise is just that, but it is build so heavily on the instrumental foundations of Come to the City that it’s hard to credit it too highly, despite the fact that it works really well.
Apart from having a genuinely inspired name, Baby Missiles is also a solid tune. The vocals have a great drive to them with a touch of David Bowie starmanship. Even the harmonica solo works well. The pace continues in Original Slave, but with an ambient backing and rattling low down harmonica piping.
Blackwater is the most obvious Dylan-like folk song, but unlike early tracks on the album, it’s heart shows through to fade out the negatives. It’s a genuinely lush end to the album.
The War On Drugs’ Slave Ambient has a lot that works really well, coming together at its pinnacle with Come to the City, which is the standout track on the album. While it’s a bit staid in the first quarter, it does enough to reprise the overall sensation and story of the album.
The War on Drugs, Slave Ambient review: 3.6/5
