Loud, melodic and a driving beat makes The War on Drugs good road music. I buy their debut album Wagonwheel Blues after the show and play it on my drive back to Edinburgh. The show kicks off and ends with two tracks from this album. Buenos Aires Beach with it’s psych-rock organ, distorted guitar and military drumming and A Needle in Your Eye which shows of their big sound like Dylan being put through the noise of early Sonic Youth.
They play all the tracks from their recent brilliant Slave Ambient album including the Springsteen-esque Baby Missiles which first appeared on their Future Weather ep. The band throughout their set create dense waves of sound and bring a real edge to The Waterboys cover A Pagan Place which makes me want to listen to their early stuff even though I disliked The Whole of the Moon or their earthy roots music of Fishermans Blues.
The layers of sound and intensity that The War on Drugs create lifts you up – just close your eyes and be a slave to their ambience.