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Registriert seit: 01.01.1970
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PitchforkBut as much as the War on Drugs make music to accompany an escape to something better, they’re the sort of band that believes the journey is more important than the destination. The songs on Slave Ambient don’t necessarily end in a place very different from where they began, but through subtle sonic manipulations and layering– like in the last two minutes of opener „Best Night“, where the guitars, piano, and melodica start to blur into the same blissful wavelength– they give the impression that a great distance has been traveled. The really amazing thing about the album is how anthemic and affirming it feels despite the near total absence of proper sing-along choruses. Case in point, centerpiece track „Come to the City“ is all about ascension, rising out of the miasmic haze of preceding interlude „The Animator“ and gradually accruing all the confidence and verve of Live Aid-era U2. But rather than work up a chest-thumping, Bono-worthy wail, Granduciel is happy to sit back and ride out the song’s dense waves of sound, to prolong the euphoric feeling of anticipation– the road trip he’s soundtracking is very much his own, and he’s as much a slave to the ambience as we are.
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