It’s a formative, almost cheeky realisation that Anderson East teases out in his latest track: “is it me, just me / or is everybody on drugs?”
Armed with a groovy baseline and a silky falsetto, the Nashville musician’s quirky sense of humour is on full display. ‘Drugs’ is the undeniably catchy second single from his long-anticipated album May We Never Die, after a three-year hiatus.
The upbeat track coerces you into either cracking a smile or busting a move–especially with its emphatic flute solo. East’s country and R&B productions might be more familiar to his fans, but this new direction offers up a solid dose of groove and funk.
It’s accompanied by a light-hearted music video where the Alabama-born artist wanders about town in various get-ups, bumping into curious characters with their own “addictions”–alcohol, caffeine, and even exercise. We soon realise ‘Drugs’ isn’t a glorification of substances. Instead, underneath the energy and charm of its disco inspiration, the tune is a subtle commentary on the way we’re all addicted to something or other. Whether that’s necessarily a bad thing, he seemingly leaves up to us.
“Cause the world behind our eyes is better in disguise / so we try to keep our feeling numb / everybody’s on drugs,” East sings in a snappy chorus reminiscent of Cee Lo Green.
If you’re after a record that’ll teleport you to the disco era, look no further.
