Slave Ambient

The War On Drugs are still best known as the band Kurt Vile was in before he started his solo career, but the Philadelphia trio's second full-length is more than good enough to escape their former bandmate's shadow. Although listening to Slave Ambient -- which is as much of a creative leap forward as Vile's Smoke Ring For My Halo was over his earlier work -- it's obvious why Vile and singer-songwriter Adam Granduciel used to work together. Both men are unapologetic in their affection for supposedly unfashionable classic rock of the Bob Seger meets Tom Petty stripe: Slave Ambient is filled with song titles like "Your Love Is Calling My Name" and melodies that any heartland bar band would be proud to call their own. But that's only one half of Granduciel's circle of influences: the epic "Come To The City" sounds like a late '70s Bruce Springsteen outtake given a Kevin Shields remix, with Granduciel bellowing his young-man-finds-his-destiny lyrics underneath layers of billowing guitar effects. Elsewhere, ticking drum machines and Neu!-via-Stereolab synth drones add unexpected but appealing textures to otherwise straightforward songs like "Baby Missiles," which makes the Springsteen influence explicit by borrowing the train-like rhythm and vocal ornamentations from "I'm On Fire." The combination of Darkness On The Edge Of Town and Loveless seems an unlikely one at first, but The War On Drugs make it work.