Diandra Reviews It All

As human beings, we all reach moments where we have to come to a decision: stay down or grow up. These moments are like spiritual crises that occur when life cannot stop handing you more issues than triumphs, and you have to decide whether to calm/ strengthen your heart or leave it to have an attack. The War On Drugs newest album, Deeper Understanding, is based in the rough decision to ACTUALLY let go of your pain, and not keep saying that you will.
The War On Drugs – Strangest Thing [Official Audio]

When you listen to Deeper Understanding, you will swear that Adam Granduciel kept a notepad with him to document what it like to have a panic attack. Guitar chords seemingly hyperventilate throughout tracks, “Thinking of A Place”, “Up All Night”, and “In Chains” as if strings could have trouble finding their own notes/ thoughts and need to breathe through the process. It is a strange. beautiful thing to see sound capture what it is to be a living soul so personally, but The War On Drugs are known for churning sound like dough until it is knead with emotion. Dense synths/ keys drop like batches of putty slipping through the hands of melodies in songs, “Strangest Thing” and “Knocked Down”. You almost want to hold out your hand to catch them because they are accompanied by the coolly comfortable voice of Granduciel. It may sound weird to call a voice “comfy”, especially when the voice is the lead of a band called The War On Drugs, which, in essence, is anything but “comfy”. Yet, in capturing the anxieties of life for a “deeper understanding”, you appreciate Granduciel’s uncomplicated vocals. He is not using music as a display of his talent as much as his thoughts, which make tracks like, “Pain” and “You Don’t Have To Go” feel like unpretentious chapters/ easy guides in a psychology book. You read through pages/ lyrics trying to understand the motives of someone whom is losing their motivation. Just because someone begins to feel withdrawn from life/ others, does not mean they lose their sense of reasoning or cause. Their actions are still pushed by feelings, but they are darker ones. The demand for yet denying of love is captured by instrumentals that feel like they have been poured in with a potion called “moodiness”. The album, in its entirety, feels/ sounds emotionally blurred, which befits its name/ theme of Deeper Understanding; no one tries get “clear” if they do not feel uncleared.
The War on Drugs – Pain [Official Video]

Deeper Understanding is an album for someone who wants music on pain that feels painless. Yes, it is a strange dynamic to have songs on feeling “lost” be pleasing and well-arranged, but beauty can transform ugliness. This is the notion that drives The War on Drugs smoothed, hazed trip into humanity’s general desire to feel clarity and purpose. For More Information On The War On Drugs And To Buy Deeper Understanding On August 25 Click Here.The War On Drugs – Holding On [Official Video]