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A Deeper Understanding is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band The War on Drugs. It was released on August 25, 2017 through Atlantic Records. The album was mixed by engineer Shawn Everett. The album won Best Rock Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. A Deeper Understanding received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 33 reviews, indicating universal acclaim. According to Marcy Donelson of AllMusic, A Deeper Understanding "reclaims and explores the distinctive soundscapes, vastness, and haunted psyche of Lost in the Dream, and that in itself is significant." On the same site, in a readers' poll by users it was ranked as the #1 album of 2017. Mark Richardson of Pitchfork noted similarities with mid-'80s rock, stating it is "also a fascinating study in influence; it’s hard to think of a band with more obvious touchstones that also sounds so original."
3 6-11 minute songs that could be 3-4
One of my favorite modern artists. These guys are the pinnacle of Dad Rock as to me they’re like if Floyd and Dylan had a child with all the modern music making abilities at their potential Lost In the Dream is my favorite of their work but this one is so chill and soothing. Can be put on whenever and it just rocks. Will always enjoy listening to them. 8.9/10
I absolutely love the style and vibe here. Pain was one of my favorite songs in 2017 and the rest of the album has lots of introspective quiet passion tracks that really work for me. Great atmosphere and feeling. Could listen to this over and over.
Big sound drenched in reverb. These songs are long.
Living in Philly, I've heard of The War On Drugs but never given them a spin. Thing one is, holy fuck the production on this is gorgeous. The guitars shimmer, the drums are just the right volume... That being said, the music is... fine. Singer Adam Granduciel sounds like he has a slider, with the ends labeled "Bob Dylan" and "Bruce Springsteen". There's occasionally a dash of Petty in there as well. That's not a knock, I like his voice and the variety it can provide. It's just that the whole record is so subdued that even tracks that you can tell should have a bit more drive suffer because of it. I enjoyed the record, but I think it'd require repeated listens to get the nuances through. Favorite track: "Pain"
Incredibly good roadtrip music.
Another very nice album from The War on Drugs. There’s a pleasant, laid back feel to this. His voice has tinges of Bryan Adams. I enjoyed this a lot! Perfect to relax to.
You could say that all The War On Drugs songs sound the same and take a long time to not really go anywhere. Or you could say they have a signature sound that is all vibe. I personally love to sit in each TWOD song for 7 or so minutes and let it wash over me like a soothing geothermally heated creek. This album is a little more mellow than Lost In Dream (on the main list), but no less enjoyable. TWOD are one of my favourite discoveries of this project. Rating: 4.5 Playlist track: Pain Date listened: 11/12/24
This is nice, very polished. Reminds me a bit of Daniel Lanois, both in terms of the atmospheric production and his voice also has some similarity. Some of the songs drag on a bit too long, but overall I liked this and will listen again. 4 stars.
Very nice
Nice enough, but sometimes a bit bland. 3 1/2 for me.
Nice album for background music.
Really good. Best track for me was Strangest Thing. Good stuff.
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Pain, Strangest thing, Knocked down, Nothing to find, Thinking of a place, In chains
Another 4th studio album? What in the world? Nice and mellow. Nothing too offputting. Enjoyable to listen to. Will probably be the same album 10 years from now.
Drullugott!
Supreme dad rock
This hit the spot today. I again enjoyed The War on Drugs.
Reminded of this line in Neuromancer about a character's plastic surgery-constructed face being a "blandly handsome blend of pop faces". Didn't really find the added value on its influences for me. I did listen to it at length without particular complaint. Not one of those songs needed to be longer than 4 minutes, though.
I really like the sound of this band. Works for me on almost all occasions. This album - however it still being pretty good - I do not consider as their strongest output. The earlier albums had some more edge to them. This album is a more middle-of-the-road version of the War on Drugs.
I think I prefer the album that was on the main list. This washes over you sweetly with that mellow 80s Springsteen/Dylan vibe, but isn't as poignant to me as the first TWOD album I heard.
He says it's rock but it's nothing like that. It has "nostalgic" rhythms, semi-slow and reminds me a little of Cold Play. I find the album very average, not surprising but balanced, which makes it enjoyable.
Listened to part of this during the day and I found it boring and forgettable low-key jam band nonsense. Listened to it at night in my car while driving around and the volume was up and it was awesome and groovy low-key jam band nonsense. Balances out to a 3 I think
Great sound that is sometimes unnecessarily drawn out in places. I would not have minded this on the original list. Fave Songs: Pain, Holding On, Strangest Thing, Thinking of a Place
Nice
Snooze fest
Easy listening indie bores the Christ out of me. There's nothing wrong with it, I just find it uninspiring and a bit of a waste of my time. In the nicest possible way, if that makes sense. I went to a lot of house parties when this stuff was super popular (early 2010s), and it always just made me really keen to go "anyone want a REAL party?", and put on Motley Crue or something. But I never did, and these albums never go anywhere. 2/5.
Thought this would be the LP to finally get me into this band, but after a strong start it hit all of the usual problems I have with Granduciel's songwriting. The ethereal, encompassing sound should be right in my wheelhouse, and for the first few tracks, a stronger guitar presence kept the whole ordeal grounded and raw for a great sonic combination. That grit leaves somewhere in the middle though (did the overdrive pedal give out?), and what's left are considerably lengthy tracks that feel more like a soft, dull cloud than anything real and tangible. You cannot write an 11-minute track and fail to develop the chord sequence either, which to me seems a massive oversight in songwriting that I would have preferred to do without. If this is the band's musical ethos then I think I need to accept this will never be the band for me.
it's fine, light rock songs I've heard 1000 times before
Heartland rock, synth-pop, Americana, psychedelic rock. Rollo. Un 2.
Like the other one. If Bruce Springsteen got deeply into Prozac and numbness it'd sound like this. So a deflated Boss, in short. I see the appeal, in today's awful world, but it's not for me.
not worthy of this list