The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient (Black Vinyl)

The War On Drugs conjure an ambling drone that conceals real pop-hooks and allows classic-rock colours to seep through. Main man Adam Granduciel gets plenty of Dylan comparisons, but Slave Ambient feels like a more back-alley Byrds filtered through a gauzier Spacemen 3 lens. The chugging "Your Love Is Calling My Name" drives that road for six blissful minutes, but their best song, "Baby Missiles" - in a different version here than on 2010's Future Weather EP - overlays a synth aura, like '80s-era Springsteen, with a splash of Kurt Vile. It's vexing in exactly the right way.