September 18, 2021 1:59 pm
The War On Drugs, I don’t live here anymore
It is not clear how, but every time they succeed. War On Drugs are capable of making nostalgia believable, of making current music sound that should only taste stale. Adam Granduciel’s band has had this trick for too long (since their debut album in 2008) to be a coincidence. Granduciel, in addition to being an excellent songwriter, knows how to exploit the potential of the recording studio well, and thinks like a producer.
For example, the work the Philadelphia band does on guitars, which always sound warm and layered, is remarkable. Take the arpeggio that opens the last single I don’t live here anymore. It seems to have heard it a hundred times already, yet it works, it drags you into the piece right away. Even the text of the passage, as often happens, is full of quotations. Already in the first verse Granduciel defines himself “A creature void of form”, a creature without form. It is a pass taken even by Shelter from the storm, a piece by Bob Dylan published on the 1975 masterpiece Blood on the tracks. And later, recalling what looks like an old love story, the singer recalls an old Bob Dylan concert where he and his girlfriend danced to the notes of Desolation row.
The sound of I don’t live here anymore, however, rather than Dylanian, he is Springsteenian (another great passion of War On Drugs): he has a martial gait, a drums that can’t be more eighties and a stadium look that perhaps had never been so explicit in the music of the band. The final chorus, recorded with the help of the New York pop band Lucius, confirms this impression. The group’s new album will be released on October 29th. Let’s get ready for a good review of the history of rock.
Moor mother, Shekere
American Camae Awae, aka Moor Mother, has a multidisciplinary approach to art. She is a musician, but also a poet and an activist. He has a jazz group, but he also has a punk band, as well as a hip hop project. Someone might remember her as one of the guests on the latest Sons of Kemet album.
All these genres are mixed with class and restlessness in his new album, with an evocative title Black encyclopedia of the air. A work that explores the entire tradition of black music, with a particular eye on jazz and rap and an afrofuturist aesthetic. This song, Shekere, which is titled as a traditional West African percussion instrument seeks to chase away the pain and fear from the black community. And it also applies, why not, to all the other communities under siege in the world.
The other songs not to miss this weekend:
Low, White horses. I haven’t written anything yet on Low’s beautiful new record, Hey what. But there is a reason. We will talk about it soon.
Robert Levon Been, Mercy of man. The founder of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club struggling with the soundtrack of the film The card collector. It comes out fine, fine.
Alexis Taylor, House of the truth. From Hot Chip Alexis Taylor’s sixth solo album. A delicate, almost jazzed piece.
P.S. I updated the playlist on Spotify. Have a good listening!
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