Best Night – The War on Drugs
Electro-folk, roots rock with Dylan or Petty-esque nasal twinge, a series of songs that turn putting-one-foot-down-after-the-other into a sort of apocalyptic elegy. Psychedelia mixed with synths mixed with saxophones mixed with whiskey. The War On Drugs have a niche, and they have stuck within it on Slave Ambient. But it’s a great niche to occupy.
We got a hint of things to come last year, with the Future Weather EP that shares a couple songs with this full record (including the delightful, churning ‘Baby Missiles’ that made my list of top songs for 2010). But the fully realized product is a marked improvement. This is a complete record, with a clear tone and texture that unveils itself slowly but surely.
In some ways it’s problematic that they open with the two best songs on the record. In normal cases that’s the sign of an album draped awkwardly on a couple hits. Here, though, that’s not at all the case. What you get on the first two tracks is a compact narrative full of urgency and passion. Then, the next 10 songs retrace those same steps, but do so more slowly and languidly. You get an opportunity to dwell on themes that burst past you the first time around. It gives Slave Ambient an almost orchestral feel. You can’t help but wish there was a bit more resolution, but the more you listen the more you come to understand that the endless movement is itself sufficient.