The War on Drugs – A Deeper Understanding

A Deeper Understanding is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band The War on Drugs. It was released on August 25, 2017, through Atlantic Records.

The albumreceived acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 28 reviews, indicating universal acclaim. According to Marcy Donelson of AllMusic, A Deeper Understanding “reclaims and explores the distinctive soundscapes, vastness, and haunted psyche of Lost in the Dream, and that in itself is significant.” Mark Richardson of Pitchfork noted similarities with mid-80’s rock, stating it is “also a fascinating study in influence; its hard to think of a band with more obvious touchstones that also sounds so original.” Shawn Brackbill of Uncut Magazine described it as “some of the richest, most compelling and least lonely-sounding music of Granduciels career”.