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The War on Drugs — Under The Pressure
Album: Lost in the Dream
Avg rating:
7.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 4084









Released: 2014
Length: 8:47
Plays (last 30 days): 7
Well the comedown here was easy
Like the arrival of a new day
But a dream like this gets wasted
Without you
Under the pressure is where we are

You're the only one
Like an illusion
Slowly fading
Until there's nothing at all

When it all breaks down and we're runaways
Standing in the wake of our pain
Will we stare straight into nothin'?
Will we call it all...
You were raised on that promise
To find that over time
Better come around to the new way...
Or watch as it all breaks down here
Under the pressure
Yeah its where we are

Well the break down
Stole it all the way across
Stranded on..
When you come here and I'm wasted...
Lying on a hill, dancin' in the rain
Hidin in the back, loosening my grip
I'm just wading in the water
Just trying not to crack under the pressure
Comments (238)add comment
The long, kinda ambient ending makes my brain happy. Soothing.
 Grayson wrote:

I spend, waste, an inordinate amount of time wondering what I'd say, what I'd do, if I happened to meet someone who declared they did not like War on Drugs. So far this has not happened. I mean, it's possible. One must be prepared. 



Pleased to make your virtual acquaintance, Grayson. This band does absolutely nothing for me.
So good! This year's Glasto performance of this song was epic! Luckily I saw them 2 days earlier in Paris with a much longer set ;-)
I didn't fully appreciate these guys until I saw them recently on Austin City Limits. Captivating.
 Grayson wrote:

I spend, waste, an inordinate amount of time wondering what I'd say, what I'd do, if I happened to meet someone who declared they did not like War on Drugs. So far this has not happened. I mean, it's possible. One must be prepared. 


Is that determined early in the conversation? If he or she says “no,” do you end the conversation? FWIW, I like the piece
 MattRudely wrote:

Just annoying.



Hopefully you have other redeeming qualities. 
This song has a calamitous inability to conclude.
I spend, waste, an inordinate amount of time wondering what I'd say, what I'd do, if I happened to meet someone who declared they did not like War on Drugs. So far this has not happened. I mean, it's possible. One must be prepared. 
 pbell wrote:

Anyone hearing an echo of In a Pagan Place by the Waterboys?

It might be just me!



Now that you mention it... 
 TLynneHenry wrote:

I like this band and this song, but this is the 2nd War on Drugs song I've heard today (within about 6-8 hours). Has the playlist shrunk?



Not much of a Bayesian?
Guys... the song is over... what are you still doing?
Anyone hearing an echo of In a Pagan Place by the Waterboys?

It might be just me!
Just annoying.
I had to check whether I had taken the time to remark upon what an enormous talent we get to enjoy.
 TLynneHenry wrote:

I like this band and this song, but this is the 2nd War on Drugs song I've heard today (within about 6-8 hours). Has the playlist shrunk?



I think it expanded to include 2 WOD tunes in a day! 
 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
love the drummer.. 


Thanks for the laugh
I like this band and this song, but this is the 2nd War on Drugs song I've heard today (within about 6-8 hours). Has the playlist shrunk?
 Algis wrote:

I love this song! This and 'Thinking of a Place' have so much meaning and so many happy memories for me! When they came out, I played them over and over while driving home from concerts. Danced at home too! Thank you War on Drugs!




Thinking of a Place is a modern classic in my opinion. It's very well paced and benefits from their tendency to draw out a song.  I always think it would have been a perfect Harvest Moon Neil Young song; has that kind of laidback "stay with me" vibe going on. It's a beautiful track and WoD should be very proud of it.
 vandal wrote:
I'm just wading in the water
Just trying not to crack under the pressure

So am I... 



<hug>
 davebarth wrote:

I love ‘war on drugs’, but detest the 2.5 minutes ‘outro’ of this song!!

what a fricken waste. The song is over. Move on. 



I really like their music but find the songs to be generally a little too drawn out.
 tm wrote:

Algis - stetsonman has his head up his own ass… it is known.




Are you speaking from personal experience?

Isn't it interesting the different effects music has on us all? By its
very nature it cannot be objectively measured. I heard the first few
bars of this track this afternoon and raised it from a 9 to 10. I
understand it might not be the cleverest or most complex song, but for
me- I feel hopeful and free listening to it- which is getting to be a rarer and rarer feeling in this world- of course now I am reading the lyrics I realize there is a mismatch with my feelings I had never noticed

Algis - stetsonman has his head up his own ass… it is known.
 Stetsonman wrote:


nope, right with you there. you nailed it.
I'm surprised anyone likes this BARFF. and they claim to have a drummer? sounds like a drum machine to me.
The lyrics are as we say in the U.K "pony" as in "pony and trap" meaning crap.
I could do with never hearing this bollocks ever again, they are worse than coldplay. And that's descending to a level few reach.


hahaha! Laughing at both these comments .... Yes, tastes differ ... if you don't like it, move on .... there is a 'skip' button ...
I love this song! This and 'Thinking of a Place' have so much meaning and so many happy memories for me! When they came out, I played them over and over while driving home from concerts. Danced at home too! Thank you War on Drugs!
Instantly recognizable style of WoD.  Lovin' the vibe! 
I'm just wading in the water
Just trying not to crack under the pressure

So am I... 
On first listen, I thought Dylan might have quit smoking again.
Of all the bands on RP, my reaction to this one is most dependent on my mood.
Sometimes, I'm totally annoyed thinking "what's that boring repetetive whining" and skip.
Sometimes, it totally gets me and sounds amazing.
Thanks for that!
Pay attention children.

Adam Granduciel won his personal War on Drugs -- he quit everything -- and then cranked out two gorgeous, popular and successful albums. 
 westslope wrote:

Played this one driving back home up the Slocan Valley and then on to the ferry at Shelter Bay.  

Highway 23 folks.   In British Columbia.

Careful now, the geo-centric forces of the earth are rumoured to surface in the Slocan.  If you linger, you may never be the same again.

I do not ride motor-cycles, but that would be one helluva piece of road to bike on.  



It is........... I wish I'd had this song to take with me then. 
Quite a few years ago (10? 15?), on a Saturday I made a snap decision to take a little ride. I'm in the Okanagan (BC). I'd finished moving some dirt earlier than I expected. (noon) and the wife and kids were gone somewhere. I planned on a shorter ride but around 3 PM, just before Rock Creek, it was just too perfect and I continued south instead of looping back. Beautiful warm spring day, through Nelson and then back along the Slocan valley. It started to get a little chilly at New Denver  and then riding past Nakusp, along Highway 6 around 10 at night I started to get a little silly, singing at the top of my lungs in the dark. Mostly to keep myself warm and awake. Got home right at midnight with only 3 short stops. I don't think my body would do it anymore but it's a treasured memory. 
 loeleh wrote:

Just check out the live version from 2018 too (Lowlands, the Netherlands), amazing energy on this live performance (and the tightest drummer of all time)!


Beg to differ. I am the tightest drummer. Last gig New Years Eve, 1991. Left the scene cause my kid came. Feb 1992. He got a master's in physics. More than I ever did being the tightest drummer.
Just check out the live version from 2018 too (Lowlands, the Netherlands), amazing energy on this live performance (and the tightest drummer of all time)!
 chyk5 wrote:


Completely disagree. I think this works beautifully. I've read that he sometimes takes months to finish a guitar part, so it doesn't surprise me. 


he really ought not bother
 davebarth wrote:
I love ‘war on drugs’, but detest the 2.5 minutes ‘outro’ of this song!!
 
That's the pressure.
Esta banda tiene el beat y arreglos de los grandes. Gracias RP for craking dpwn the lyrics. That way non english speakers  get deeper in.
They could employ Marvin the Paranoid Android as lead vocalist for a more upbeat sound.

This guy sounds like a manic depressive turning up to a job he detests at a call centre where he gets to invite people to consider taking out home contents insurance all day and gets told to fuck off roughly every 34 seconds.
 davebarth wrote:

I love ‘war on drugs’, but detest the 2.5 minutes ‘outro’ of this song!!

what a fricken waste. The song is over. Move on. 



Completely disagree. I think this works beautifully. I've read that he sometimes takes months to finish a guitar part, so it doesn't surprise me. 
 Stetsonman wrote:


yep we Brits do apologise for coldplay. 
I love Coldplay. Why be a snob?

I love ‘war on drugs’, but detest the 2.5 minutes ‘outro’ of this song!!

what a fricken waste. The song is over. Move on. 
11.
This could have ended already. Already. Already. Already.
 Segue wrote:

I like this band but this song sounds like lame Coldplay. Or I mean Coldplay. Lame.



yep we Brits do apologise for coldplay. 
 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
love the drummer.. 


really?
you mean that's not a drum machine?
 cgrove wrote:

Ugh.  I just can't stand this band. Every. Single. Song. sounds the same. I immediately switch to RP World Music stream for ~5 minutes when their ethereal guitar comes across my speakers.  I know I'm in the minority here, but I can't be the only one who doesn't want to hear this band ever again.  Can I?



nope, right with you there. you nailed it.
I'm surprised anyone likes this BARFF. and they claim to have a drummer? sounds like a drum machine to me.
The lyrics are as we say in the U.K "pony" as in "pony and trap" meaning crap.
I could do with never hearing this bollocks ever again, they are worse than coldplay. And that's descending to a level few reach.
Road safety.   I have a theory as to why listening to a song like Under The Pressure makes the automobile experience safer.

This is head-bobbing music.   While furiously bobbing your head, it is impossible to stare ahead fixed and thus tire out your eyes.  
Great, really great band. TNX RP!!!

 Chewie wrote:

Speaking of the long outro, I pulled up to some traffic lights in my home town, right as the outro kicks in. It was a hot day so I had my windows open and the stereo turned up. There was a guy walking down the other side of the road and he stopped and stared at my car with a look of incomprehension on his face - I think it blew his mind a little bit...
 

Legend has it he came home and dug up his old Tangerine Dream record
 Jelani wrote:
Loud and noisy with a singer that sounds like it hurts him to sing.
 
And free speech is wonderful. It gives us the opportunity to hear or read absolutely useless or ignorant comments like yours! Awesome! 
Makes me want to join Facebook again. Not.
Loud and noisy with a singer that sounds like it hurts him to sing.
Yeah, I love it.....Thank you RP.
sonymagellan wrote:


One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.

Bertrand Russell

rate 10 for this song.




 
itsme_bygolly wrote:


I would agree if I had not been a lawyer. Sometimes the course of someone's entire life rests in your hands. A much better gauge of mental stability is a healthy sense of humor. If that disappears, your sanity will follow.
 

I'd say you are both correct
I hate Jade Bird
 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
love the drummer.. 
 

Imagine how his gf feels! 
 PinkSo wrote:

Actually I hear Paul Simon...
 
Really?  Hmm....  That is a nice compliment actually.  
love the drummer.. 
 Stetsonman wrote:
he probably realised how shit this is

 

 Chewie wrote:
Absolutely adore this song and the album & band in general.  Played it constantly in the car on a trip to the Isle of Skye earlier in the year.  Driving on epic roads, listening to this amazing music just made for a sublime experience.

Speaking of the long outro, I pulled up to some traffic lights in my home town, right as the outro kicks in. It was a hot day so I had my windows open and the stereo turned up. There was a guy walking down the other side of the road and he stopped and stared at my car with a look of incomprehension on his face - I think it blew his mind a little bit...
 

 sfyi2001 wrote:

 

From when is this? 
Does anyone else here an influence of Spiritualized here with this band?  That is not a bad thing, Its an aspect i like.  Just want to know if anyone else has made this connection?
 zurcronium wrote:
Not Paul Simon but Bob Dylan is the link to the vocals. So abundantly clear that is.
 

Thank you, Yoda.
 PinkSo wrote:

Actually I hear Paul Simon...
 
I hear the simlicity of Bob Dylan, but he sounds so much better, more lyrical. 

 westslope wrote:
I don't get the comparisons with Bob Dylan.

This man is a far better vocalist.   
 
Actually I hear Paul Simon...
RP you are kicking ass today from Nick Drake to to The Cranberries ..Eagle Eye Cherry and now my fav War On Drugs while i smoke my weed here in Canada ..Thanks RP you made my day.
Not Paul Simon but Bob Dylan is the link to the vocals. So abundantly clear that is.
 sonymagellan wrote:


One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.

Bertrand Russell

rate 10 for this song. 
 

I would agree if I had not been a lawyer. Sometimes the course of someone's entire life rests in your hands. A much better gauge of mental stability is a healthy sense of humor. If that disappears, your sanity will follow.
 The_Enemy wrote:
Does anyone else hear a little Paul Simon in the lead singer's voice?

I'm not sure yet what to rate this song but I like it.
 
As opposed to a bigger , taller Paul Simon?
 johnturner20 wrote:
Love this Band ... Thanks RP XX
 
(Idem) Same for me. I discovered this group, with this major album from 2014, thanks to RP. Thanks RP
Does anyone else hear a little Paul Simon in the lead singer's voice?

I'm not sure yet what to rate this song but I like it.
look what happens when you have not a brake man.
I love this ! 2nd time I've heard it and I had to look up who it was.


One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.

Bertrand Russell

rate 10 for this song. 
 vibjul wrote:


Hm, I have been there [Slocan Valley], in 2015, but I did not feel any strange feelings afterwards.....Perhaps because I am from Norway :)
 
Right.  You already worship rocks and trees.   <g>

Actually, the joke I usually run on the Slocan is that the overhead hydro transmission lines make people feel 'special'.   
I am never 'not in the mood' for these guys.
Some bands have great songs...some groups have great lyrics....some songs have great vibes...sometimes a song grabs U...this one even with the repetative stanza works 4 ME!
I like the band and this song too. But I wonder if it will become for them what  'Clocks' is for Coldplay.  
 westslope wrote:
Played this one driving back home up the Slocan Valley and then on to the ferry at Shelter Bay.  

Highway 23 folks.   In British Columbia.

Careful now, the geo-centric forces of the earth are rumoured to surface in the Slocan.  If you linger, you may never be the same again.

I do not ride motor-cycles, but that would be one helluva piece of road to bike on.  
 

Hm, I have been there, in 2015, but I did not feel any strange feelings afterwards.....Perhaps because I am from Norway :)
 westslope wrote:
Played this one driving back home up the Slocan Valley and then on to the ferry at Shelter Bay.  

Highway 23 folks.   In British Columbia.

Careful now, the geo-centric forces of the earth are rumoured to surface in the Slocan.  If you linger, you may never be the same again.

I do not ride motor-cycles, but that would be one helluva piece of road to bike on.  
 

Ha! Hello, Neighbour. I live in Nelson (also British Columbia, for you  far away listeners). I've had the good fortune to ride a motorbike  and  a road-racing pedal bike along all these roads. It's a little bit of heaven each ride....
Discovered this band through FIFA and explored it on RP, love this song!
Played this one driving back home up the Slocan Valley and then on to the ferry at Shelter Bay.  

Highway 23 folks.   In British Columbia.

Careful now, the geo-centric forces of the earth are rumoured to surface in the Slocan.  If you linger, you may never be the same again.

I do not ride motor-cycles, but that would be one helluva piece of road to bike on.  
Love the sound of the sprinkler at the start!
I like this band but this song sounds like lame Coldplay. Or I mean Coldplay. Lame.
 BCarn wrote:
Just bought this CD and A deeper Understanding. Very impressed.  (And yes, I still buy CD's!...I like having the actual tangible product and not a bunch of 1's and 0's.)

 
Funny since the CD has a bunch of 1's & 0's 'pitted' on it that are really the same thing as the 1's & 0's of an .mp3 or .flac - still, I know what you mean about having something to touch, insert and play (hey now!) Long Live RP!!
I love the drone at the end
10......... more TWOD please ! 
Love this band....
Naugatuck,Connecticut 
As a 20-something this song, band and album became something more than the usual music released on a daily basis. Transformative, dreamlike, subtle and hints of genuis. Back in 2014 this album was undoubtedly influential to a certain group of young millenials trying to find meaning and purpose in the early 21th century. Hugely subjective but a definitive 10/10 for me. They're amazing live also!
who will invented peace drug or it was before jesus?
actually when I have money, people who I like "adult" wants drug from me.
Love this Band ... Thanks RP XX
I really don't see what people see in this band. So unemotional and bland.
 On_The_Beach wrote:


Something about an orange clown wanting a border wall?
 
Brilliant! 
 jagla wrote:
Reason for the long drawn out shut down?
 

Something about an orange clown wanting a border wall?
Thank you RP ...love this band ...:-)
 Chewie wrote:
Absolutely adore this song and the album & band in general.  Played it constantly in the car on a trip to the Isle of Skye earlier in the year.  Driving on epic roads, listening to this amazing music just made for a sublime experience.

Speaking of the long outro, I pulled up to some traffic lights in my home town, right as the outro kicks in. It was a hot day so I had my windows open and the stereo turned up. There was a guy walking down the other side of the road and he stopped and stared at my car with a look of incomprehension on his face - I think it blew his mind a little bit...
 

boring
I just watched the last episode of BoJack Horseman - they used this song at the end .... very effective.
3 TWOD songs in the last 2 hours. Love the band but repetition is creeping in to the groovy playlists.
C'mon Bill?
I seem to get this song often on PSD. And I listen to it all the way through every time!
sooo boring ! way over played.
ya aa aar red
7...8.....9   Yummy
I like it. Sounds like Future Islands meets the Waterboys.
Just bought this CD and A deeper Understanding. Very impressed.  (And yes, I still buy CD's!...I like having the actual tangible product and not a bunch of 1's and 0's.)

Absolutely adore this song and the album & band in general.  Played it constantly in the car on a trip to the Isle of Skye earlier in the year.  Driving on epic roads, listening to this amazing music just made for a sublime experience.

Speaking of the long outro, I pulled up to some traffic lights in my home town, right as the outro kicks in. It was a hot day so I had my windows open and the stereo turned up. There was a guy walking down the other side of the road and he stopped and stared at my car with a look of incomprehension on his face - I think it blew his mind a little bit...
Falls into the "I Will Possess Your Heart" category of long and atmospheric. Has a hint of Jonathan Wilson as well.

Like.
 lizardking wrote:

100% agreed....in fact the entire album is a great "mellow" road-trip disk.  And while I'm against the "war on drugs" as created in the US in the 80s, I'm totally for TWOD music!  PEACE and Long Live RP!! 

 
their music is great for road trips
{#Bananajam}{#Dancingbanana_2} More TWOD please!
probably in minority that finds this boring... and too long
 jagla wrote:
Reason for the long drawn out shut down?
 
Sentence fragment with a question mark?
Reason for the long drawn out shut down?
Good band suffering, unfortunately, from overplay.

Gotta say though, the first couple of hundred reps of Thinking of a Place were exhilarating.

 
Love it. The band's grown on me in recent months. Haven't heard a mediocre track yet.
 Yodester wrote:
Great song to listen to on the highway coming back from skiing in the Canadian Rockies

 
100% agreed....in fact the entire album is a great "mellow" road-trip disk.  And while I'm against the "war on drugs" as created in the US in the 80s, I'm totally for TWOD music!  PEACE and Long Live RP!! 
Cool groove, I dig it. {#Bananajam}

  Too long to begin with, too long to end with...
Great song to listen to on the highway coming back from skiing in the Canadian Rockies
{#Fever} very reminiscent of mark knofler  great groove
 fatcatjb wrote:
Rode my bicycle home in a windy, warm, Sacramento afternoon...great song to ride one's bike to
 

 
I bet!

In my head it's a roller-rink turn-on-the-mirrorball song, but any kind of cruizin around would probably work, eh?
Rode my bicycle home in a windy, warm, Sacramento afternoon...great song to ride one's bike to