The War on Drugs

The music of The War on Drugs encompassed a broad array of influences, from classic rock to '80s pop and beyond, all filtered through a contemporary indie-rock sensibility. Many members came and went through the band, but the driving creative force was singer, guitarist, and keyboardist Adam Granduciel from the beginning. However, Kurt Vile was a key participant in the early phase of the band before departing to concentrate on his solo career. Granduciel and Vile began working together in Philadelphia, PA in 2003, and they started The War on Drugs two years later. The initial incarnation of the band made its debut on the 2008 EP Barrel of Batteries, basically a collection of demos. The first full War on Drugs album was released later that same year, with Granduciel and Vile doing all the heavy lifting on a multitude of instruments and a couple of other players popping up on the occasional track. By the time the follow-up, Slave Ambient, was released in 2011, Vile was no longer a band member, though he does play guitar on a couple of songs. This proved to be the record that started earning attention for the band, but it was the third War on Drugs album, 2014's Lost in the Dream, that really put them on the map, making it to No. 6 in the U.S. album charts and landing some airplay with the single "Under the Pressure." The renown was enough to edge the band out of the indie world and earn them a deal with Atlantic Records, which released the 2017 album A Deeper Understanding The single "Holding On" gave The War on Drugs its most ubiquitous radio song up to that point..