The War on Drugs Live Drugs Again
The War on Drugs's Live Drugs Again captures the band's live evolution, turning studio songs into communal, cathartic performances that critics largely hail as triumphant. Across professional reviews the record earned an 83.75/100 consensus score from four reviews, a figure that underlines reviewers' view of the collection as a confident document of touring energy and expanded arrangements. Critics consistently point to patient arrangement and sonic build as the album's chief strengths.
Reviewers praise the record's standout moments for their pacing and momentum. Pitchfork and At The Barrier highlight how “Come To The City” and “Living Proof” unfurl into towering catharses through interlocking rhythms and layered harmonies, while Americana Highways and At The Barrier single out “In Chains” and both versions of “Burning” (including “Burning (Live...Again)”) as live high points that feel reinvented onstage. Exclaim emphasizes the keyboard pulse of “Harmonia's Dream (Live...Again)” and the detonating late-set power of “Under the Pressure (Live...Again)”, noting the seven-piece's tightened pacing and stage dynamics.
While critics mostly celebrate the album's cosmic Americana textures and how the band functions as a unit, some reviews temper praise with a focus on set pacing and moments of extended motorik repetition that may test patience. Overall the critical consensus suggests Live Drugs Again is worth listening to for fans and newcomers interested in the War on Drugs' live intensity and expanded sonic architecture, and it serves as a persuasive snapshot of the band's communal performance power.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Burning (Live…Again)
1 mention
"make a sensational version of Burning sound like Dancing In The Dark on steroids."— At The Barrier
In Chains
1 mention
"Just like "Burning," it’s surprising that this gem (from A Deeper Understanding ) took so long to find a proper live release, but the wait was worth it."— Americana Highways
Harmonia’s Dream (Live…Again)
2 mentions
"The sequenced pulse to Harmonia’s Dream, not for the only time, setting up a tension"— At The Barrier
make a sensational version of Burning sound like Dancing In The Dark on steroids.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Harmonia’s Dream (Live…Again)
Burning (Live…Again)
Old Skin (Live…Again)
Come to the City (Live…Again)
I Don’t Wanna Wait (Live…Again)
Pain (Live…Again)
Slow Ghost (Live…Again)
In Chains (Live…Again)
Living Proof (Live…Again)
Under the Pressure (Live…Again)
I Don’t Live Here Anymore (Live…Again)
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
There is a real sense that The War on Drugs have captured the best live moments on Live Drugs Again, and the review points repeatedly to “Burning” as a standout. The writer revels in the stretched, motorik push of “Harmonia’s Dream (Live…Again)” and the howling intensity that makes “Burning (Live…Again)” feel cathartic. He praises the march-like momentum of “Come to the City (Live…Again)” and notes quieter breaths in “Old Skin (Live…Again)” and “Living Proof (Live…Again)” that balance the set. Overall the piece frames the album as a landmark live document that amplifies the studio work into something more visceral and communal.
Key Points
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The best song is "Burning (Live...Again)" because the reviewer calls it sensational and the "winning version" with motorik intensity.
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The album's core strength is expanding studio tracks into larger, communal live versions that balance relentless rhythm with quieter, stark moments.
Themes
Critic's Take
The War on Drugs return with Live Drugs Again, and the review makes clear the best songs are those that build into towering catharses - especially “Come To The City” and “Living Proof”, which crystallize the band’s cosmic Americana. The writer revels in how “Come To The City” unfurls from an ambient intro into a colossal, undulating mass, and how “Living Proof” is assembled brick by brick into a quietly cathartic payoff. The narration keeps returning to the band as a symbiotic unit, so the best tracks are those that showcase patient layering, interlocking rhythms, and harmonies that turn solos into communal moments. This framing answers queries about the best tracks on Live Drugs Again by foregrounding those songs that most vividly demonstrate the album’s scope and compositional craft.
Key Points
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“Come To The City” is the best song because it transforms an ambient intro into a colossal, near-perfect distillation of the band’s cosmic Americana.
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The album’s core strengths are patient layering, collective interplay, and meticulous live assembly that turn single elements into towering musical payoffs.
Themes
Am
Critic's Take
I came to The War on Drugs late, but Live Drugs Again convinces: the best songs - especially “In Chains” and “Burning” - find new life onstage. The record shows how live arrangements expand mood and musicianship, turning album moments into something bigger. The highlight is the band letting songs breathe, so “In Chains” becomes a devastating centerpiece while “Burning” delivers an irresistible live WOOOOOO!!!. This is a collection that answers the question of what the best tracks on Live Drugs Again are by actually making them better in performance.
Key Points
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The best song is "In Chains" because the live arrangement elevates its emotional dichotomy to a peak.
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The album's strength is reimagining studio tracks onstage, finding new tension, heft, and emotional release.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his brisk, conversational live recap Alex Hudson frames The War on Drugs and Live Drugs Again as a band that blossoms onstage, singling out songs that turned the night. He praises the opening flourish of “Harmonia's Dream” for its "Baba O'Riley" keyboard pulse and cosmic surge, and treats “Under the Pressure” as the late-set detonator whose final verse "exploded" into a roof-off climax. Hudson's tone is wry but admiring, noting how the seven-piece fixed pacing issues to end high with “I Don't Live Here Anymore” and a rousing finish. The narrative reads like a fan review with critical eyes, useful for readers asking about the best tracks on Live Drugs Again and why those moments mattered.
Key Points
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The best song, "Under the Pressure," is best for its explosive final verse and roof-off climax.
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The album's core strengths are its live momentum and tightened pacing that turn studio arrangements into powerful concert moments.