The War on Drugs (band)

The War on Drugs is an American indie rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

History

Band member Adam Granduciel moved from Oakland, California to Philadelphia in 2003, where he met Kurt Vile and began playing music with him. [ [http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/06/band-of-the-week-the-war-on-drugs.html Band of the Week: The War on Drugs] . "Paste Magazine", June 15, 2008.] They began playing as The War on Drugs in 2005, and self-released a demo EP. While Vile and Granduciel formed the backbone of the band, they had a number of accompanists early in the group's career, before finally settling on a lineup that added Charlie Hall as drummer/organist, Kyle Lloyd as drummer and Dave Hartley on bass. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hcfwxzr5ldke~T1 The War on Drugs] at Allmusic] Both Granduciel and drummer Kyle Lloyd also played in The Capitol Years, and Vile has several solo albums. [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/breaking/2008/08/breaking-artist-the-war-on-dru.php Breaking: The War on Drugs] . "Rolling Stone", August 6, 2008.] The group gave away its "Barrel of Batteries" EP for free early in 2008. [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/49389-war-on-drugs-sign-to-secretly-canadian-give-away-ep War on Drugs Sign to Secretly Canadian, Give Away EP] . "Pitchfork Media", March 20, 2008.] Their debut LP for Secretly Canadian, "Wagonwheel Blues", was released in 2008. [ [http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/the-war-on-drugs/wagonwheel-blues/19143/ Review of "Wagonwheel Blues"] . Prefix Magazine, June 18, 2008.]

Reviewers of the band's music make note of its Americana overtones. [ [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91730010 The War on Drugs: The Music of Rootlessness] . NPR, June 20, 2008.] The group's sound has been described as influenced by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and My Bloody Valentine. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/aug/20/new.band.373.the.war.on.drugs The War on Drugs] . "The Guardian", August 20, 2008.] [ [http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/3426964 Review of "Wagonwheel Blues"] . Drowned in Sound, June 2, 2008.]

Members

*Adam Granduciel (vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards)
*Kurt Vile (guitar)
*Kyle Lloyd (drums)
*Charlie Hall (drums, organ)
*Dave Hartley (bass, guitars)

Discography

*"Demo EP" (self-released, 2005)
*"Barrel of Batteries" EP (self-released, 2007)
*"Wagonwheel Blues" (Secretly Canadian, 2008)

References