The War On Drugs ★★★★

Granduciel’s major label debut sharpened his commerciality but maintained his music’s transcendent qualities. Choice fuzz guitar solos punctuated great songs – see the moment at 2:14 in Pain where it feels like Neil Young and Old Black have entered the picture. Elsewhere, in the 11-minute Thinking Of A Place, Granduciel wallowed in nostalgia and stretched out further than ever before.