Review: The War On Drugs – “Lost In The Dream”

 
 
 

The War On Drugs
Lost In The Dream

Secretly Canadian – March 18th 2014
By Joshua Khan (@blaremag)
Find it at: iTunes | Insound | Official Store

 

7.4




In most cases, moving on can be a suffocating process. The War On Drugs’ third effort isn’t exactly a break-up record but Lost In The Dream prominently recalls an obsession with pain, suffering, heartache, and deteriorating bits of joy, all of which are sticky-noted across a breathtaking display of textured songwriting. The reinforcement doesn’t quite establish a downer record and partly because the band dyes the distress in a fistful of Quaalude grooves – vast songs that rack mileage and tear at your thoughts with an echo of On The Beach-era rock that gets you situated.

Not all of the long hauls do T.W.O.D. justice as they’re built for a live setting (“Under The Pressure”, “In Reverse”) but some shimmer on with such audacity that it’s a shame Adam Granduciel’s “Boss” moments (“Burning”) don’t touch the six-minute mark. He doesn’t mean to gravitate towards that style – as he does sing about “demons” and “black suns” – but numbers like “An Ocean In Between The Waves” shimmy at a feverish pitch, with Granduciel yelping along to every guitar note that nails his heart. It’s difficult to tell if he’s keeps it shut but at least Lost In The Dream reinforces that every head trip away from reality has a beginning and an end, even if we’d prefer things to stay still.

Listen: “An Ocean In Between The Waves”, “Burning”, “Eyes To The Wind” || Watch: “Red Eye”

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