On March 18, The War on Drugs released Lost in the Dream, an album which was preceded by a strong lead single, "Red Eyes." Personally, I had never had much reason to listen to this band (which is mostly the work of Adam Granduciel), as their previous effort, 2011's Slave Ambient, was a record I thought was very average. That changed with Lost in the Dream.
The obvious highlight of the album is its first single, "Red Eyes." It's a reverb-filled, synth-heavy and just plain fun jam that's probably the best song of the year so far. The other songs on the album tend to be longer, slower extended jams like the opening track, "Under the Pressure." The nice thing is that these longer songs never drag: they're exactly as long as they should be.
I can only think of one complaint for this album, and that's that at times it is more along the lines of background music than something that commands your attention. This is especially true considering the length of the songs. This is not necessarily a bad thing though; it's just an album meant more for the background, rather than one that commands your attention.
Lost In The Dream is an excellent ambient album that draws on the sounds of the '70s and '80s. The best way I can describe it is that it's as though "Dancing in the Dark"-era Bruce Springsteen was putting out an album in 2014. So if that sounds like your thing, this album comes highly recommended.
Grade: B
Video: "Red Eyes"
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