The War on Drugs

If Kurt Vile snuck away with more than his share of War on Drugs' stash of mojo, departing after 2008 debut Wagonwheel Blues, the evidence on Slave Ambient cannot prosecute the charge. Adam Granduciel's reconstituted trio still dreamily peddle their one-chord jams like jean-jacketed heartland rockers who've been poisoned by Krautrock. The motorik rhythms from their debut (and Vile's Childish Prodigy) are pared way back, mostly replaced with lazier tempos and waltzing rhythms to prop up the creeping vines of guitar and keyboard. Only "Baby Missiles" (a track paid forward from their vinyl release, Future Weather) and "Your Love is Calling My Name" attempt to replicate the shuffling Springsteen-meets-Spacemen Three sound they'd relied on previously. Vile's absence is mostly marked by a safer, less ramshackle approach, resulting in a greater consistency track to track. What was once magic is now just alchemy: a little less thrilling, but gold is still the result.