The War On Drugs debut two tracks from ‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’ in Tiny Desk Concert

The War On Drugs are the latest band to link up with NPR for its Tiny Desk series, playing a four-track set of cuts from their just-released fifth album, ‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’.

In addition to the title track and ‘Change’ – both of which served as pre-release singles for the record – the band performed ‘Old Skin’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Wait’, marking the first time the latter had been played live in public (the aforementioned title track also had its live debut in the session).

As all Tiny Desk sessions have been since COVID-19 broke out, The War On Drugs’ set was performed remotely. The band opted to play it from their own studio in Burbank, California, surrounded by a swathe of recording gear. It’s a distinctly intimate performance from the band, who are used to having their sound ring out in sprawling theatres.

Take a look at The War On Drugs’ full Tiny Desk (Home) set below:

‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’ was released last Friday (October 29) via Atlantic. Opening track ‘Living Proof’ was also released as a single, with the band debuting it live on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert back in September.

NME gave the album a five-star review upon release, writer Rhys Buchanan saying: “Some lose sight of their heart and soul on the route to global stardom – others take it in their stride. Granduciel recently told NME that ‘music should be filled with wonder’, and there’s magic everywhere you look on this triumph of an album.”

Over the weekend, The War On Drugs performed ‘Occasional Rain’, ‘Old Skin’ and ‘Change’ on CBS This Morning. The band’s last proper show for paying fans was in December of 2019, however that’s set to change in April with a five-date UK tour on the cards.

In a recent interview with NME, frontman Adam Granduciel discussed the idea of growth and acceptance. He said: “I think there’s an affirmation almost in understanding you’re not perfect. Nobody is. you understand that you may be flawed, but you also understand what is true and important and at the end of the day only certain things really matter.”

Granduciel also talked about how having his first child affected working on new music. “Watching my son twist knobs, plug stuff in, play synths or harmonica – it made me realise that this was something I was passing down,” he said.