The War On Drugs "Slave Ambient"

Deliberately set out to find three new-to-me indie artists, and this was number two, the first being Veronica Falls.  The War On Drugs was the only domestic choice as they are based in Philly.  "Slave Ambient" is their third full-length offering.  I read of some Bob Dylan influence, and though that comparison hasn't ever moved me ('cept maybe to the toilet), I went ahead with the samples and found the new-wavish atmospherics intriguing enough for the purchase.  As the spins began, I didn't hear the Dylan as much as I heard Tom Petty, and hell, one of the tracks could have been Bryan Adams singing!  One of the other names to pop into my head due to the vocals was T-Bone Burnett (no kidding, he has a number of solo albums, most of which are deserving of your attention).  For a group dynamic, oddly enough, the two bands from the past I heard in this recording were also domestic, with one being derided for having a vocalist with a "whine-y, Dylan-esque voice."  That band was called The Nobodys, a one-album, no-hit wonder who deserved much, much better.  They even got the prestigious, final-song placement in a Miami Vice episode, usually an immediate sales booster for that era, but not in their case.  Here is a link to one of the two videos made in support of their album.  Do yourself a favor and play all four on this channel, including my favorite, "The Gang On Fortune Hill."  The other band was Suburbs, and I have to give you this link, too, as a historian (sorry, Newt).   Oh, yeah, there was another, more recognizable group that I heard on this selection, which is by far the best song on "Slave Ambient"...

Anybody else hear early-80's U2 besides me?  You've even got the "whoot-wooo" chant in it. 

The album has been out almost six months with just a hint of notice here and in the UK.  It has caught a second wave of sales this month, so I take that as a good sign for them.  For me?  I'll go back to the listed 80's bands of my mid-20's.  Heck, I have two Suburbs recordings in the Top 500 CDs racks in my office!  But now I really want to hear the Nobodys album, which means I have to buy a turntable or go on a treasure hunt in my cassette storage...