The War On Drugs

The War On Drugs

Continuing their ascendence after last year’s stunning Lost In The Dream, the War On Drugs have been on a long touring victory lap, but also found time to sign to Atlantic for a two-record deal. You might not know it from their set at Bonnaroo, just yet — scheduled in the early evening, they were one of those sets that had a sizable crowd with a lot of people sitting in the back, chilling in scarce shade on blankets. A slow-burn daytime thing before everyone starts going for it as the sun sets. That being said, the Drugs themselves were on fire, as usual, their particular brand of haze a perfect fit for an exhausted afternoon on the third day of Bonnaroo, underneath an unforgiving sun. Lost In The Dream highlights like “Red Eyes” and “Under The Pressure” were reliably great, having long since become road-worn since last March. The highlight, though, was seeing them close with Slave Ambient standout “Your Love Is Calling My Name,” a less common inclusion in recent sets that has grown into a bleeding Spiritualized-esque experience. With fleshed-out ranks after the addition of two touring members, the band simply sounds bigger, ready to continue that upward trajectory that last year ignited. In a few years, they could be headlining this thing.