The War On Drugs-Lost In The Dream

Lost In The Dream is the third studio album from Philadelphia natives The War On Drugs, it's an anthemic and atmospheric joy, it's definitely unpretentious in it's more melodic approaches, each song is a hidden gem. It's one of those albums that seeps slowly into your musical system, it's dense in areas, the synth invocations are like a mist that slowly dissipates without totally clearing, but there is enough space for Adam Granduciel's catchy hooks to shine through. It's an album that has a distinct east coast feel, more musically concise and deeply introspective.

Under The Pressure is mesmerising, a deeply hypnotic groove that to me is reminiscent of early 80's Roxy Music, the song builds around a guitar pattern and an insistent drum groove, it's a song about melting under the pressure of life, the falling away of the facade of our existence,

Holding over like an illusion
When it all breaks down and we're runaways
Standing in the wake of our pain
And we stare straight into nothing
But we're covered all the same
You were raised on a promise
To find out over time
Better to come round to the new way

Red Eyes is an anthem Springsteen like but in a lo fi under the radar kind of way, it's emphatic but it's also a song that has a ring of uncertainty as Granduciel implore "we won't get lost again"? An Ocean Between the Waves has some great hook laden guitar playing, it has a sense of urgency and uncertainty that permeates throughout the album.

I bet against the company again 
Been trying to redefine
Everything I know and love
Gotta know you're mine

Disappearing is more aching in tone, with that same sense of being unsure of ones position there is a certain tone of pleading,

All this way to connect
And all the way to the corner everyday
You were there for me
But will you wait for the one that disappears?

Lost In A Dream sees The War on Drugs move away from their more stretched out progressive leanings of their previous albums to a more concise album, each song has a sense of direction with less meandering, it's an amazing album and Granduciel continues to develop as an important and eloquent songwriter.