Though the new album is called Lost in the Dream, The War on Drugs' Adam Granduciel seems like he's just woken up from one. While it's only the band's third LP since forming nine years ago, Lost in the Dream is leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessors, as Granduciel transforms his oft-meandering ambience of navel-gazing Americana into more propulsive and grand arrangements that are no less concerned with personal exploration of emotion but, like private songs writ large, reach their full intensity in the hands of the entire band. Even in the very small in-studio space at KEXP, The War on Drugs sound epic as they channel their heroes of the 80s — Bruce Springsteen, The Waterboys, Dire Straights... — and nearly tear the heart right out of our Midday Show host, Cheryl Waters. Get lost in the dream here:
Full Performance:
"Seriously? Another song?" Kristin Hersh, frontwoman for Throwing Muses, teased KEXP's DJ El Toro (a.k.a. Kurt Reighley) in mock-exasperation during their in-studio session, "We are so old, Kurt -- why are you doing this?" The veteran alt-rock legends are doing it for their latest release, Purgator…
Part fresh-faced punks, part wise songwriters, Fox and the Law seem to always be creating expectations and then immediately defying them, dashing preconceptions as soon as their rich guitar riffs and vocals rife with sonic time bombs hit listeners' ears. This Seattle four-piece, not even two years …
