The six-piece have also shared the record’s smooth lead single, Living Proof
(Image credit: Andrea Friedrich/Redferns via Getty)
American indie-rock outfit The War on Drugs have announced their first studio effort in four years, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, and have marked the news with the release of the album’s first single, Living Proof.
It will be the six-piece’s first outing since 2017’s Grammy Award-winning A Deeper Understanding, which bagged the award for Best Rock Album in 2018, and will act as a follow-up to the band’s 2020 live offering, Live Drugs.
I Don’t Live Here Anymore will be released on October 29 via Atlantic Records and will see the band’s current lineup – featuring Adam Granduciel, David Hartley, Robbie Bennett, Charlie Hall, John Natchez and Anthony LaMarca – return for 10 all-new tracks.
The record’s lead single reintroduces listeners to the group’s celebrated sonic universe by way of some calming acoustic guitar strums, melancholic piano chimes and breezy, modulation-tinged guitar leads.
Granduciel is also on hand to remind us of his formidable vocals, and keeps the track ticking along while the instrumentation beneath him swells into a kaleidoscope of elegantly composed, exquisitely layered soundscapes.
Just after the four-minute mark, the electric guitar ups the ante, and plays host to some oh-so sweet, vibrato-drenched bends and intricately selected six-string stabs.
You can check out the new single, and accompanying music video directed by filmmaker Emmett Malloy, above.
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(Image credit: Shawn Brackbill)
The writing process for the album, headed up by Granduciel, Hartley and LaMarca, spanned three years and seven studios, and began one month after the band bagged its Grammy award.
Enlisting the help of producer/engineer Shawn Everett, the band visited New York's Electric Lady and LA's Sound City during their journey, and reconvened at Electro-Vox in May 2019 to record Living Proof.
The tracklist for I Don’t Live Here Anymore is as follows:
Living Proof
Harmonia's Dream
Change
I Don't Wanna Wait
Victim
I Don't Live Here Anymore
Old Skin
Wasted
Rings Around My Father's Eyes
Occasional Rain
The War On Drugs have also announced dates for a 2022 tour, which will see them visit a number of iconic music venues, including Madison Square Garden, Shrine Auditorium, the Bill Graham Civic Center and Boston's House of Blues.
They are also set to headlines gigs in a number of European cities, such as London, Paris, Berlin, Munich and Copenhagen.
I Don't Live Here Anymore is available to preorder now ahead of its October 19 release.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
