Happy Tenth Anniversary to The War On Drugs Slave Ambient

The personnel and production may be different from their Grammy-winning albums to come, but the seeds were planted on this 2011 classic.

After a year off, the Central Park Summerstage has been in full swing again, plaguing me with the slightest FOMO. A longtime New York tradition, the bills are always stacked, and even better, many shows are free.

One of my favorite shows happened on a sticky July afternoon in 2012 when CBGB (or whatever group has the licensing rights) threw a festival with a killer bill. Prolific indie legends Guided by Voices headlined (they’ve only released eighteen albums since) while The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (R.I.P.), Cloud Nothings, and The War On Drugs filled out the day. Not too shabby for a free show.

It was The War on Drugs that I was most excited to see and would be the first of many times I’ve seen the band. I was a fan of their debut, Wagonwheel Blues, but their second album Slave Ambient had been released the summer before and was my constant soundtrack to my first year in the city. Adam Granduciel’s Dylan-esque vocals backed by heady soundscapes and sprawling guitar drones were unlike anything going on at that time.

It’s hard to believe that this Monday will mark ten years since its release. The War on Drugs has gone from blog buzz darlings before releasing their breakthrough and essential album Lost in the Dream. Eventually, they would issue their major-label debut, A Deeper Understanding, which garnered them a rare Best Rock Album Grammy that I agree with.

The personnel lineup is almost entirely different but revisiting Slave Ambient now, it’s easy to see the foundations that would take the band to its current amphitheater and arena-filling standing. Bandleader Adam Granduciel started playing in Kurt Vile’s supporting band, The Violators. Still, the two also created a different project that became The War on Drugs (another possible name was The Rigatoni Danzas. Which would definitely be a Grammy surprise).

While Vile played on the debut, he continued to focus on his solo career and would only play on two songs on Slave Ambient. Besides Granducciel, only founding bassist Dave Hartley and keyboardist Robbie Bennet are still in the band, which has gone on to find a steady lineup that is also their best - guitarist Anthony LaMarca and drummer Charlie Hall are vital parts to the success of their two most recent albums.

While the names have changed, the music is there, even if in a more lofi form on Slave Ambient. At the end of the opening track, “Best Night,” the extended jam proves that the band is best in this setting, with most of their newer songs clocking in at over five minutes. “Brothers,” from the Future Weather EP, is rerecorded for the album and demonstrates Granducciel’s knack for writing a pop hit that sneaks up on you with repeated listens.

“Your Love Is Calling My Name” explores new soundscapes by layering in everything but the kitchen sink over a steady driving beat, now a band calling card. The album highlight “Come to the City” is similar to U2’s “Bad,” backed with Moog synths and liquid guitar lines.

Perhaps the biggest clue to where the band was heading is “Baby Missles.” Pulling from Tom Petty and Born in the U.S.A Springsteen, it’s a slice of pure Americana music updated for the 2010s.

Across Slave Ambient, three instrumental pieces break up the traditional offerings. Some critics complained about them at the time, saying that they slowed down the album, but I think they are peeking into what makes The War on Drugs such a must-see live band. “The Animator” is full of synth soundscapes and saxophone purrs (which current member John Natchez has perfected with baritone drones), while “City Reprise #12” and “Original Slave” are noise freakouts. As the group has come to embrace flirting with a somewhat jam band status and audiences are increasingly open to extended live tunes, these parts of the record have aged incredibly well.

The players and production may differ, but The War on Drugs wouldn’t be where they are today without the fine craftsmanship on Slave Ambient. Here’s to seeing where they go next on their latest, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, releasing this October. It’s my most anticipated album of the second half of the year, and I hope to once again catch them out on the road.

Slave Ambient is available on Secretly Canadian.