Digging for Diamonds at the Bottom of the Sea

The War On Drugs - Taking The Farm

Hailing from Philadelphia, The War On Drugs blend the harmonic rhythm of Arcade Fire with the hippy/happy leanings of Animal Collective and look set to gain a much wider following by the end of the year, in the US at least. Their debut album ‘Wagonwheel Blues’ is not out until June but several tracks can be found on their myspace and are well worth checking out.

Much of The War On Drugs’ music conjures up images of 1970s-era America with folky song structures inspired by the likes of The Eagles and Bob Dylan. ‘Taking the Farm’ may even be a nod to Dylan’s performance of ‘Maggies Farm’ at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when he famously went electric.

The track ebbs and flows as it rides the crest of a wave of distorted guitars and filtered effects, similar to 2007s ‘Bros’ from Panda Bear. It’s an ode to standing on your own two feet, a call-to-arms and a modern-day anthem for the American Dream; Fievel goes west and lives happily ever after.