Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 20, 2011

10

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

 
Mountain Views News Saturday, August 20, 2011 

SEAN’S SHAMELESS 

REVIEWS:

THE WAR ON DRUGS

Say Aloha to Swing at Sierra Madre’s Friday Night Live


The War On 
Drugs have 
already had a 
tumultuous 
early career. 
Adam 
Granduciel 
and Kurt Vile 
displayed a 
communal bond for classic rock and reflective 
storytelling. In the forefront, they were setting out 
to make great American rock music. Raw, guitar-
driven, and with a knack for gritty songwriting, 
The War On Drugs were onto something magnetic. 
After dropping their much-lauded debut LP, 
“Wagonwheel Blues” in 2008, three of the five 
members left the band. This included co-founder, 
Kurt Vile, who released a critically acclaimed 
album this year entitled, “Smoke Ring for My 
Halo”. Instead of disbanding, co-founder and 
vocalist, Adam Granduciel recruited drummer 
Mike Zanghi making The War On Drugs a three-
piece rock band. With a new perspective on 
things, Granduciel went from co-pilot, to full on 
navigator. The War On Drugs proudly present 
“Slave Ambient”, the sophomore record from a 
band that was poised to change 21st century rock 
forever. 

“Slave Ambient” roots lie within the confines 
of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. 
It’s pure Americana rock and oddly enough, fresh 
and innovative for this day and age. Whatever 
fragments of guitar-driven music still exist, The 
War on Drugs may have the only remaining pieces 
left to pave a new path for not only themselves, 
but followers as well. The record kicks off with 
“Best Night”, the best track off the album (and 
one of the better songs of the 2011). The initial 
sound resembles something off a “Broken Social 
Scene” album, but the comparisons end once 
Granduciel starts to sing. He has sort of a nasally 
tone and is lyrically succinct. The image you get 
when he sings is as if he’s driving on an open, 
desolate road traveling through the heartland 
of America and taking it all in. He may not 
be able to discern where he’s heading or what 
possibilities may lie ahead, but he’s perfectly 
content with not knowing so. “Baby Missiles” 
sounds like something off of Arcade Fire’s “The 
Suburbs”, but you easily realize this substance 
is more of a remedy than whatever Arcade Fire 
had subscribed. The twelfth and final track is 
“Blackwater” and it’s truly spectacular. It may feel 
like a vintage Bob Dylan song, but Granduciel 
has enough creative intuitiveness to call this one 
his very own masterpiece. Holding me back from 
calling the entire record a masterpiece are the 
four instrumental tracks that sadly don’t do any 
favors for the record as a whole. They come and 
go without feeling like a necessity for the album, 
but just purely filler. However, the other tunes 
demonstrate Granduciel as an expressive lyricist 
and an impassioned singer who means every 
single word he sings. 

“Slave Ambient” is for the believers, the non-
conformists, the wonderers, the dreamers, the 
lovers, the fighters, the optimists, the broken-
hearted, and the life-changing seekers. If you’re 
deep in the hole or just barely crawling out, 
“Slave Ambient” has your name written all over 
it. The album is sophisticated and classic rock 
inspired. It’s a reminder that rock music can mean 
something once again. It’s unfortunate that this 
may very well be a sleeper hit of an album and 
only become discovered by the ones searching 
for something with more merit than what is 
on the Billboard Top 40. The War On Drugs 
is another prime example of how mainstream 
music doesn’t hold a candle to what independent 
rock has to offer. If you have a penchant for 
superior American rock music that is laced with 
superb songwriting and dazzling guitar-driven 
melodies, “Slave Ambient” undeniably fits the 
bill. 

Downtown Sierra Madre will be swinging this 
week, to the sounds of the Gem City Jazz Cats. The 
Jazz Cats, formed in 2009 as a 13-piece combo, 
now have 18 players, plus three vocalists. They 
will perform in Kersting Court as part of Friday 
Night Live, put on each summer by the Sierra 
Madre Chamber of Commerce. Veterans of street 
fairs, private parties and benefit concerts, the Jazz 
Cats have performed several times before in Sierra 
Madre, including the Wine and Jazz Walk, Friday 
Night Live, and this year’s 4th of July Community 
Picnic. The Band plays oldies, swing, and jazz 
but also includes some modem tunes, and is 
being sponsored by Prudential California Realty.
There will be a Hawaiian theme for the 
evening, with shoppers encouraged to wear 
their favorite Hawaiian clothing and leis. 
In addition, anyone who spends $35 in a retail 
store or $50 in a restaurant during Friday Night 
Live hours (6:30 to 9pm) is invited to bring their 
receipt to the Chamber booth in Kersting Court. 
They will be entered in a drawing to take place 
the final week of Friday Night Live. Shoppers 
are eligible every time that they spend $35/retail 
or $50/restaurant – the more times they spend 
$35/$50 the greater their chances of winning. 
On the final Friday, August 26th, two lucky 
shoppers will have their names drawn to win a 
shopping/dining spree at Sierra Madre businesses 
valued at more than $500! With only five weeks 
of eligibility, the odds of winning will be quite 
good for those who are entered in the drawing.
Friday Night Live will take place in downtown 
Sierra Madre from 6:30 to 9pm through Aug. 26th. 

For more information, including an 
entertainment lineup, list of themes, and a list 
of businesses participating in the shopping spree 
giveaway, visit www.SMFridayNightLive.info or 
call the Chamber at (626) 355-5111.

Artist: The War On Drugs
Album: Slave Ambient
Label: Secretly Canadian
Release Date: August 16, 2011

Grade: 8 out of 10
Key Tracks: Best Night, Come To The 
City, Baby Missiles, Blackwater 

Sierra Madre Playhouse PresentsGilbert & Sullivan'sThe Yeomen of the GuardAugust 19 - September 24Director: Eugene J. HutchinsMusic Director: Brian Asher AlhadeffPurchase tickets online: www.sierramadreplayhouse.orgor call: (626) 355-4318 • Group Sales: (626) 836-2125facebook.com/sierramadreplayhouse
JOIN US 
FOR SOME 
REAL FUN!

We have a great line-up this 
weekend at Adams’ Pack Station, 
Chantry Flat. Join us for a hike, 
music, and dutch oven cooking. 

12:00-2:00 Tim Tedrow 

 
2:00-2:30 Dennis FitzGerald

2:30-4:30 Moreton Bay 
String Band 

4:30-5:30 Barbara Paul & 
Joe Bull


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YoGamaDreNew students only.
Limited time offer.
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com