Lost In The Dream
With 2011’s *Slave Ambient*, The War on Drugs offered a collection of emotionally rich, guitar-driven grandeur that earned songwriter/bandleader Adam Granduciel accolades from far beyond his hometown scene in Philadelphia. The War on Drugs’ fourth full-length operates with a bigger, bolder agenda—evident in the clattering electronics and hypnotic production of the nearly nine-minute opener, “Under the Pressure”. From there, *Lost in the Dream* unfolds with warm, melancholic rock that combines Granduciel’s mystical tenor with a blurry haze of vintage synths, chiming guitars, horn accents and reverb-soaked ambience. Uptempo tracks like “Red Eyes” and “An Ocean in Between the Waves” juxtapose pulsing, mechanical backbeats with droning synths. Ballads, like the heartbreaking “Suffering” and the gently paced title track, float along in a beautiful fog. After *Lost in the Dream* closes with a couple of minutes of wordless feedback, the album leaves a hypnotic, lingering impression.
'Lost In The Dream' is the third album by Philadelphia band The War on Drugs, but in many ways, it feels like the first. Around the release of the 2011 breakthrough 'Slave Ambient', Adam Granduciel spent the bulk of two years on the road, touring through progressively larger rock clubs, festival stages and late-night television slots. As these dozen songs shifted and grew beyond what they’d been in the studio, The War on Drugs became a bona fide rock ’n’ roll band. That essence drives 'Lost In The Dream', a 10-song set produced by Granduciel and longtime engineer Jeff Zeigler. In the past, Granduciel built the core of songs largely by himself. But these tunes were played and recorded by the group that had solidified so much on the road: Dave Hartley, (his favorite bassist in the world), who had played a bit on The War on Drugs’ 2008 debut 'Wagonwheel Blues', and pianist Robbie Bennett, a multi-instrumentalist who contributed to 'Slave Ambient'. This unit spent eight months bouncing between a half-dozen different studios that stretched from the mountains of North Carolina to the boroughs of New York City. Only then did Granduciel—the proudly self-professed gearhead, and unrepentant perfectionist—add and subtract, invite guests and retrofit pieces. He sculpted these songs into a musical rescue mission, through and then beyond personal despair and anxiety. 'Lost In The Dream' represents the trials of the trip and the triumphs of its destination.
If the mesmerizing motorik hum of the War on Drugs' earlier records gave leader Adam Granduciel an outlet to escape his problems, Lost in the Dream is where he pulls a U to survey the emotional wreckage. The result is the band's most lustrous, intricately detailed, and beautifully rendered record to date.
The band and its fans are undoubtedly sick of the comparison, but there’s no denying it: The War On Drugs sounds like Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits. Instead of imitating those and other FM mainstays, however, The War On Drugs aims for listeners’ feelings about them, and for our collective radio unconscious. On Los…
A flawless, ethereal artistic statement by a band who have clearly refined and perfected their craft.
Up until now The War On Drugs have been somewhat eclipsed by the achievements of former member Kurt Vile.
I wasn't sure I needed an album like Lost in the Dream until I heard it. Even then, it took a few listens before I could articulate why it scans the way it does: Wistful but not resigned, invigorated but not wide-awake.
Yes, The Boss fingerprints are all over ‘Lost In The Dream’ but the reality of what War on Drugs do is a lot more intricate of course Granduciel cherry picks from American classic rock, not least Springsteen, Petty and Dylan, but he also manages to reference My Bloody Valentine, The Cure and Neu.
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Lost in the Dream may eventually turn out to be the point where The War on Drugs escape references to former member and slacker poster-boy Kurt Vile. While hazy, spaced out Americana remains the link, Adam Granduciel’s band have placed classic seventies tendencies ahead of stoner chic.
Lost in the Dream starts down this same path on churning opener "Under the Pressure," but then splits off into several directions that feature expanded instrumental experiments and a tendency towards bigger, if slightly narcotized, anthems.
The third full-length recording by Adam Granduciel and company picks up where 2011's Slave Ambient left off . . .
Album review: The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream. Richly melodic and possessing a classicist pop sensibility, this is rock music with soul.
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<p>Philadelphian longhair Adam Granduciel defuses potentially overweening guitar licks with a dystopian haze, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong></p>
The War on Drugs's 'Lost in the Dream' masterfully conveys existential ambivalence with its vast distorted spaces. Read our review.
Adam Granduciel, the man behind the War on Drugs, has been recording trance-inducing Americana since 2005, and along with his long-time friend and former...
Review of the new album from The War On Drugs' Lost In The Dream. The LP comes out today on Secretly Canadian. The War On Drugs play tonight in Philadelphia
Adam Granduciel's impassioned songs stop short of lighters-aloft choruses, twisting buffed-up sounds into exquisite shapes, finds <strong>Jon Dennis</strong>
[xrr rating=3.75/5]The War on Drugs sure has a way of naming their records with accurate description.
Lost in the DreamArtist: The War on DrugsGenre: RockLabel: Secretly CanadianInspired, perhaps, by the recent success of former bandmate Kurt Vile, Adam Granduciel has joined him in upping the ante.