The War on Drugs Return With New Single “Who’s That”

The War on Drugs have returned with “Who’s That,” their first newly released studio song in several years. Written and produced by frontman Adam Granduciel at his Burbank studio, the expansive track places anxious self-questioning inside the band’s familiar blend of layered guitars, vintage keyboards and open-road momentum.

A quick idea became a densely built recording

Granduciel said he wrote the song in about 10 minutes between his first coffee and the school drop-off. Its emotional center is less casual: he described it as an attempt to love yourself despite anxiety, depression and self-doubt, forces that can interfere with living the life a person wants.

The recording grew far beyond that initial burst. Granduciel handled multiple six- and 12-string guitars, Mellotron and other synthesizers, while bandmates Anthony LaMarca, David Hartley, Robbie Bennett, Jon Natchez and Eliza Hardy-Jones contributed to the arrangement. Alex Fischel of Spoon and Lily Honigberg also appear on the track.

A music video directed by Max Flick follows Granduciel on a surreal nighttime walk through Burbank. The visual gives the song’s inward-looking questions a physical setting without turning the release into a conventional performance clip.

The band’s next chapter is coming into view

“Who’s That” follows the era of I Don’t Live Here Anymore, the band’s 2021 studio album, and the 2024 live set Live Drugs Again. Rolling Stone identified it as the group’s first new song since 2022, while NME framed it as the first new single in five years. The difference reflects how each outlet counts releases, but both agree that the track marks a significant studio return.

Granduciel has also indicated that a larger project may be close. In an interview earlier this year, he said he was nearly finished making a record and wanted to reconnect with qualities in his earliest albums without simply repeating them. No album title or release date has been announced.

The band is scheduled to play US dates this fall, including festival appearances and headlining shows. That gives “Who’s That” an immediate life beyond streaming, especially because fans had already heard versions of it at recent concerts. For now, the single works as both a self-contained comeback and a possible first signal of the War on Drugs’ next full-length phase.