American indie-rockers The War on Drugs, often described as “shoegazers” and compared to the likes of Springsteen and Dire Straits took to Rock City during their world tour armed with an extensive set list.
Their third album Lost in the Dream, released in 2014, received masses of critical acclaim and tonight, the Philadelphia band demonstrated to a sold out audience just why they are worthy of such “best of 2014” laurels, shifting them from small clubs to a Pyramid Stage slot at Michael Eavis’ homeland.
The 105-minute set begun with their melodic title track Under the Pressure from their latest effort, kicking the night off to a hopeful start. Highlights from the set included Burning, In Reverse, Eyes to the Wind and An Ocean in Between the Waves but hit single from Lost in the Dream Red Eyes received the biggest response.
Taken from their second album Slave Ambient, Come to the City showcased a slow and guitar-filled build up to a wall of sound. The band failed to feature any showstoppers in the encore but this didn’t cause the atmospheric production of pure fantastic musicianship to come to a halt.
The 2450-capacity venue were left mesmerised and made me beg the question as to why such flawless and neat tracks weren’t filling arenas instead. Such well-thought out songs featuring guitar-driven climaxes and cathartic vibes puts the band in a league of their own, there’s just no end to The War on Drugs.
If you didn’t seem them during their UK leg of their world tour, you’ve missed out.
The War on Drugs played at Rock City on Sunday 1 March.
The War on Drugs' website
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