The War on Drugs are back with another one of Paste’s most-anticipated 2021 albums, announcing that their fifth studio LP I Don’t Live Here Anymore will be released Oct. 29 on Atlantic Records. The announcement is accompanied by the video for lead single and opening track “Living Proof,” as well as a 2022 tour of North America and Europe in support of the band’s new record.
I Don’t Live Here Anymore is The War on Drugs’ long-awaited follow-up to 2017’s Grammy-winning A Deeper Understanding, one of Paste’s favorite albums of that year. The band—bandleader Adam Granduciel, bassist Dave Hartley, multi-instrumentalist Anthony LaMarca, keyboardist Robbie Bennett, drummer Charlie Hall and saxophonist Jon Natchez—recorded their new album with co-producer/engineer Shawn Everett across three years and seven studios, including New York’s Electric Lady and Los Angeles’ Sound City. They recorded “Living Proof” at Electro-Vox in L.A. in May 2019, drawing on their full-band energy (as opposed to Granduciel meticulously piecing the song together, per usual) for a more immediate sound.
“Living Proof” leads with acoustic guitar and gleaming keys, with Granduciel delivering his stream-of-consciousness lyrics with a poignance befitting some of his most personal songwriting to date—“I’m always changing,” he repeats, the song’s only constant as he moves from memory to expectation and back again. The song is a slow burn that doesn’t muster The War on Drugs’ typical guitar-driven energy until late in the game: “But I’m rising / And I’m damaged / Oh, rising,” he sings at its peak, evoking what a press release says is the album’s central concept: “resilience in the face of despair.” Granduciel stars in the accompanying video, directed by filmmaker Emmett Malloy (Vampire Weekend, Jack White), shot on 16mm at the historic Panoramic studio in Stinson Beach, California.
The War On Drugs’ 2022 tour will feature some of the band’s biggest stages yet, including their first-ever headlining show at Madison Square Garden, a huge bellwether for any act. They’ll also play Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium, the Bill Graham Civic Center in San Francisco, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, a two-night stand at the Chicago Theatre, Philadelphia’s Metropolitan, the House of Blues in Boston and many more. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 23 at 10 a.m. local time.
Watch the “Living Proof” video (and revisit The War on Drugs’ 2010 Daytrotter session) below, and keep scrolling for their tour dates, as well as the details of I Don’t Live Here Anymore. You can preorder the record right here.
I Don’t Live Here Anymore Tracklist:
01. Living Proof
02. Harmonia’s Dream
03. Change
04. I Don’t Wanna Wait
05. Victim
06. I Don’t Live Here Anymore
07. Old Skin
08. Wasted
09. Rings Around My Father’s Eyes
10. Occasional Rain
I Don’t Live Here Anymore Album Art:
The War On Drugs Tour Dates:
November
12 – Lake Perris, CA @ Desert Daze
January 2022
19 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live
20 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live
21 – Dallas, TX @ Toyota Music Factory
22 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
24 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
25 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
27 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
28 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
29 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
31 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
February 2022
01 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
02 – Washington, DC @ Anthem
04 – Columbus, OH @ Express Live!
05 – Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
06 – Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
08 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
10 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
11 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
12 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
13 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
15 – St. Paul , MN @ Palace Theatre
16 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
18 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
19 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union
21 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
22 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
23 – Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds
25 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Auditorium
March 2022
22 – Helsinki, FI @ Helsinki Ice Hall
24 – Stockholm, SE @ Annexet
27 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
28 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
30 – Copenhagen, DK @ KB Hallen
31 – Copenhagen, DK @ KB Hallen
April 2022
02 – Berlin, DE @ Verti Music Hall
04 – Zurich, CH @ Halle 622
05 – Milano, IT @ Alcatraz
07 – München, DE @ Zenith
09 – Paris, FR @ L’Olympia
11 – Birmingham, UK @ 02 Academy Birmingham
12 – London, UK @ The O2 Arena
14 – Dublin, IE @ 3 Arena
16 – Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena
18 – Edinburgh, UK @ Edinburgh Corn Exchange
20 – Köln, DE @ Palladium
21 – Wiesbaden, DE @ Schlachthof
22 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome
23 – Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis
