His band's new album is called Lost in the Dream, but The War on Drugs' Adam Granduciel sounds like he's just woken up from one. While it's only the band's third record since forming nine years ago, Lost in the Dream is leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessors: Granduciel transforms his ambient, oft-meandering Americana into grander and more propulsive arrangements that are no less exploratory. Like private songs writ large, they reach their full intensity in the hands of his entire band.
Even in the small in-studio space at KEXP, The War on Drugs sounds epic as its members channel their heroes of the '80s — Bruce Springsteen, The Waterboys, Dire Straits — and nearly tear the heart right out of our Midday Show host, Cheryl Waters.
Watch the entire session on KEXP's YouTube channel.
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