The War On Drugs, Liverpool Academy. February 2015. Photograph by John Johnson.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The audience’s ears would still arguably be ringing days after the event as The War On Drugs assaulted the senses of a rammed Liverpool O2 Academy. Overdriven guitars, FX-laden keyboards and a bass with more bottom end than Loch Ness all contributed to a night of aural frenzy for the 1000 or so that jammed the big room in the venue on Hotham Street.

The gig was a communal experience – akin to a night at the Café Del Mar, albeit with guitars replacing 808s. Trance/dance music is perhaps the best comparison to the cacophony of sound brought by the band: their music gets lost in meandering jams that build to euphoric releases (usually in the shape of a rip roaring and melodic guitar solo from main man Adam Granduciel).

Burning, Red Eyes and Under The Pressure, all taken from 2014’s Lost In The Dream album, are the big hitters of the night and all follow the same method. Sure, it’s an aesthetic that replaces the need for great songs at times, but the formula creates a vibe that’s hard to argue with. Indeed, for a man in his mid-30s surrounded by journeymen musicians, Granduciel attracts a young crowd, always ready to cut loose.

Comparisons have been drawn with Bruce Springsteen, Neu! and Bob Dylan but The War On Drugs certainly plough their own furrow. Granduciel sings like Dylan, the best of Dylan, say Before The Flood circa 1974, but his band sound more like Springsteen’s legendary E Street Band, with the emphasis definitely on the ‘E’ part of that volatile and heady mix.

The evening unfortunately sagged a little in the middle, perhaps under the weight of all that echo and reverb, but a hymnal take on George Harrison’s1970 release, Beware Of Darkness, turned the night around again, and the home straight was packed with the likes of aforementioned Burning and the gorgeous Eyes To The Wind.

The War On Drugs are riding the crest of a wave. It is to be hoped they don’t drown under all the noise as their next move could be Granduciel’s defining one!

Alan O’ Hare