Barcelona's Independent Review Website

The War On Drugs
2009-03-14 Sala Mephisto It’s not often that I go to see a band that I know next to nothing about but in the case of The War on Drugs, it came as something of a treat. There is clearly something of a responsibility upon me as a reviewer to come to conclusions, form analyses and contextualise the music in question but right from the start this Philadelphia band’s set presented problems. Kicking off with what at the time I wished to describe as slow, melodic rock in the Americana tradition of Springsteen or Tom Petty I was not expecting to be particularly amazed by the concert. However through their set their sound progressed from a point which may be considered their own musical roots to incorporate more modern influences, faster paced structures and what could even be described as experimentation. Identifiable songs such as “Taking the Farm” subsequently sound like Springsteen singing TV on the Radio with enough of the rhythmic catchiness of the latter to carry them through. However the influence of the great figureheads of rock n roll are definitely felt in The War on Drugs sound and there is more than hint of a Dylanish twang to songs like “Arms Like Boulders” and “Buenos Aires Beach” But these influences are moved on from and with the band’s flare for live improvisation and fluid set it is easy to appreciate what they are trying to do. For a trio they produce an impressively complete sound and manage to keep their performance enjoyable and engaging even for a largely uninitiated audience.