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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It's interesting that The War On Drugs , a five piece from Philadelphia , bonded over a shared love of Bob Dylan for lead singer Adam Granduciel often sounds so much like Dylan ( especially on "There Is No Urgency" where he sounds truly uncannily like the Spitting Image puppet of Dylan ) that they run a risk of a pastiche of the artist they love. Yet there is so much more to the band than that , that the Dylan thing just gets blown away. Wagonwheel Blues is such an fascinating album sonically that the nasal vocal whine disappears into the background , almost literally sometimes and becomes the least interesting thing about the music.
The band clearly share a love of rock traditionalism so it's a revelation how they manage to pay respect to it without resorting to clichéd revivalism . They do this by combining classic song writing with an Americana twist with the fuzzed up sounds capes, crashing percussion, twinkling drones, diaphanous eddies and ulcer forming bursts of static utilised by bands like My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Seefeel , Scorn, or more recent material by bands like The Besnard Lakes . Guitars, samplers, harmonica, piano, Wurlitzer , trumpet, organs create a dizzying array of sonifaction and nuanced textures.
There is a true diversity in the songs themselves . The relentless clanging chords of the ten minute epic "Show Me The Coast" are followed by the to some extent diffuse guitar on the brief lament "Barrel Of Batteries" .Album opener "Arms Like Boulders" is the most straight up rock song on the album -complete with wheezing harmonica- but is followed by the processed beats and perverted harmonies of "Taking The Farm". "Buenos Aires Beach" is like Tom Petty refracted by a diamond prism but the battering percussion and cathedral drones of "A Needle In Your Eye # 16" sound like Electralane covering the Chills. But that's followed by the Eno like drifts and intractable quirks of "Reverse In The Charges" , most un-Dylan like - so this is truly an album of contrasts.
Only the mundane instrumental "Coast Reprise" comes across as filler. WagonWheel Blues pulls of a very neat trick of sounding comfortably familiar while surprising at virtually every turn. I wouldn't go as far as to call it a classic but it's not far off and it's ability to make the listener view an over-subscribed genre in an unsullied undiluted way make it one of the most admirable albums for a long time.
The band clearly share a love of rock traditionalism so it's a revelation how they manage to pay respect to it without resorting to clichéd revivalism . They do this by combining classic song writing with an Americana twist with the fuzzed up sounds capes, crashing percussion, twinkling drones, diaphanous eddies and ulcer forming bursts of static utilised by bands like My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Seefeel , Scorn, or more recent material by bands like The Besnard Lakes . Guitars, samplers, harmonica, piano, Wurlitzer , trumpet, organs create a dizzying array of sonifaction and nuanced textures.
There is a true diversity in the songs themselves . The relentless clanging chords of the ten minute epic "Show Me The Coast" are followed by the to some extent diffuse guitar on the brief lament "Barrel Of Batteries" .Album opener "Arms Like Boulders" is the most straight up rock song on the album -complete with wheezing harmonica- but is followed by the processed beats and perverted harmonies of "Taking The Farm". "Buenos Aires Beach" is like Tom Petty refracted by a diamond prism but the battering percussion and cathedral drones of "A Needle In Your Eye # 16" sound like Electralane covering the Chills. But that's followed by the Eno like drifts and intractable quirks of "Reverse In The Charges" , most un-Dylan like - so this is truly an album of contrasts.
Only the mundane instrumental "Coast Reprise" comes across as filler. WagonWheel Blues pulls of a very neat trick of sounding comfortably familiar while surprising at virtually every turn. I wouldn't go as far as to call it a classic but it's not far off and it's ability to make the listener view an over-subscribed genre in an unsullied undiluted way make it one of the most admirable albums for a long time.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I bought this album after reading a brief article on the band in a popular music magazine. I'm not one to buy albums on impulse and when i do i'm usually disappointed. I'm really glad to say that this doesn't apply to Wagonwheel Blues.
The album blew me away from the first list and it has been on constant repeat for the last few weeks and i still haven't tired of it.
The music is very catchy and sounds both familiar and excitingly new. I know comparisons are not fair but if i had to describe the music i'd say it was a cross between Bruce Springsteen and Arcade Fire with the lyrical richness of Bob Dylan thrown in for good measure. That may not be doing the band justice so why not check out their myspace page and list to a few tracks for yourself before deciding whether or not to purchase.
If i do have a criticism it's that the album is a little short, compounded by the fact that two of the songs are instruments. It's only a minor complaint, i think the rest of the album more than makes up for it.
I've been extremely underwhelmed by the current crop of new artists and i'm delighted that i've "discovered" this band for myself. I have no hesitations in recommending.
The album blew me away from the first list and it has been on constant repeat for the last few weeks and i still haven't tired of it.
The music is very catchy and sounds both familiar and excitingly new. I know comparisons are not fair but if i had to describe the music i'd say it was a cross between Bruce Springsteen and Arcade Fire with the lyrical richness of Bob Dylan thrown in for good measure. That may not be doing the band justice so why not check out their myspace page and list to a few tracks for yourself before deciding whether or not to purchase.
If i do have a criticism it's that the album is a little short, compounded by the fact that two of the songs are instruments. It's only a minor complaint, i think the rest of the album more than makes up for it.
I've been extremely underwhelmed by the current crop of new artists and i'm delighted that i've "discovered" this band for myself. I have no hesitations in recommending.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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6 reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Great debut....
19 Jun 2008
Format:Audio CD
This is an excellent debut from a band that will hopefully gain more exposure in the near future. The War on Drugs combine an Americana influence with a little bit of guitar experimentation. It's great summer music, and it totally kicks butt. It makes me smile every time I listen to it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
The War on Drugs' Wagonwheel Blues
17 Dec 2008
Format:Audio CD
The War on Drugs is littered with pleasant contradictions. That goes for the U.S. government's real "War on Drugs" as well as this band from the delightfully trashy musical playground that is Philadelphia. The group combines a refreshing plethora of completely distinctive sound combinations like, for instance, Sonic Youth coupled with Tom Petty. Lush guitars hearken back to early Bruce Springsteen while dreamy vocals ring reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain. Synth-soaked and audibly fulfilling, The War on Drugs will, quite possibly, attract many a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah fan as well as aficionados of shows that leave your ears ringing for days. Their classic yet modern debut album Wagonwheel Blues, released by Secretly Canadian in June, yields thick, textured soundscapes that might serve as a fitting soundtrack for those times when you're sticking your head out the car window on the highway.
One of my favorite albums
17 Nov 2010
Give it a listen for yourself. The entire album is generally repeated a few times in my player before I finally force myself to change albums for variety. Yes, Dylan is a big influence, and that's one of the things I like about it! It's a great road trip album, as is their following EP, "Future Weather". Take some time to enjoy it!
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