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The War On Drugs, 'Living Proof'

After a four-year wait since its last studio album, The War On Drugs returned on Monday with ... an acoustic ballad? Yep, and it's a glorious welcome back. The tranquil "Living Proof" begins with soft strumming, a handful of pensive, melancholic piano chords, and is thoughtfully peppered with restrained electric guitar.

This first glimpse of The War On Drugs' upcoming album, I Don't Live Here Anymore (out Oct. 29), is a bold and brave move for a band that's known for classic rock-flavored epics. "Living Proof" is more like a post-quarantine hug from the band who gave us the best live album (Live Drugs) during the pandemic that we needed to get through the Fall of 2020. I'm told epics from the new album will be soon to follow. We're talking about The War On Drugs, after all.

Copyright 2021 XPN

Bruce Warren is assistant general manager for programming of WXPN in Philadelphia. Besides serving as executive producer of World Café, Warren also contributes to Paste magazine and writes for two blogs: Some Velvet Blog and WXPN's All About The Music Blog.