“Up All Night” by The War on Drugs, Sunday, February 11, 2024


The War on Drugs released A Deeper Understanding on August 25, 2017. It was the band’s first major-label record as they had signed to Atlantic Records after releasing their previous music on the indie label Secretly Canadian. The album received critical acclaim from many publications, giving it a score on Meta Critic of 81%. The band doesn’t push for mainstream or crossover appeal, keeping their songs long, ranging from 3:59 on “Knocked Down” to the longest track “Thinking of a Place” at 11:10. Most of the songs are 5:30-7:20. Unlike the jam and progressive rock bands that listeners think of as commercially unviable, The War on Drugs’ sound is unpretentious by sticking to minimalism rather than ornate chords. Instead, the band builds an atmosphere often between two chords.

IF I HOLD ON, SHOTS MAY RING. What’s a greater irony than a stoner rock band named The War on Drugs after Nixon’s extremely uncool, failed, documentedly racist program? The band’s latest album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, is notably more lucid than their back catalog. The band’s breakthrough began with their 2014 record Lost in the Dream. The War on Drugs’ singer and chief songwriter Adam Granduciel was left adrift in a procellous sea as the band toured, leading to deteriorating mental health leading up to the band’s 2014 album. His songwriting reflected the clinical depression and alienation he felt. Lost earned positive reviews and exposed the band to a broader audience than their previous albums. The depression and alienation that Granduciel wrote about seem to still be present in the band’s follow-up, A Deeper Understanding, with the opening track, “Up All Night,” addressing paranoia directly in the lyrics. 


I DON’T KNOW WHY I’VE BEEN AWAY. Unlike most of The War on Drugs’ discography, the music of “Up All Night” is up-tempo and the beat is uneven, speeding up and slowing down at times, creating a frantic sound. If The War on Drugs is a stoner rock band in the classic rock sense like ‘70s Pink Floyd, many listeners enjoy the band with a joint or an alcoholic beverage. The music of “Up All Night” is more in tune with cocaine or at least a strong cup of coffee. The speaker can’t sleep. Overthinking is keeping him awake, causing him to feel paranoid about a relationship. He’s “been away” from this relationship for a while, either physically or emotionally, but as the morning comes and “it’s just stopped raining,” he “steps into the light,” presumably to deal with what he’s neglected. “Up All Night” isn’t the most comfortable spot. It’s not a bad trip, but it’s not fun. It’s a cup of coffee you shouldn’t have drunk even though you were conversing well with a friend. Maybe we all have our drugs, our indulgences we need to war against. It’s an open box of See’s Candies; it’s one more episode on a work night. And overindulgence may cause depression and paranoia. 





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