Lost In The Dream

Three years have separated as many records for Philadelphia’s The War On Drugs. Adam Granduciel, the flowing-locked mastermind behind the outfit, confessed to Tone Deaf late last year, “I don’t pump stuff out nearly as fast as some of the people around here. It’s daunting.”

As challenging as it may be for the meticulous perfectionist, the wait for the band’s third LP Lost In The Dream has emphatically proved itself worthwhile.

This collection is the Drugs’ darkest output to date. The record transcends a forlorn Granduciel, who split from his then-girlfriend at the commencement of writing the record, painting a melancholy aesthetic over the entire 60-minute release.

The musician sonically bares his stranded stream of wandering consciousness, providing atmospheric layering championed by homemade pedal effects, fading harmonics, and brooding synthesisers. This ominous sentiment is best exemplified by bookends ‘Under The Pressure’ and ‘In Reverse’, as well as the wavering instrumental throw ‘The Haunting Idle’.

Lost In The Dream delves deepest into the blue for the piano-driven ‘Suffering’. The telltale slow-burner witnesses Granduciel recounting his loss, “Why be here when we both gonna fake it” before the frontman’s wispy vocals melt into a wall of shimmering guitar work and harmonious keys.

Despite extended jams and mournful ballads, cathartically-charged lead single ‘Red Eyes’ as well as ‘An Ocean In Between The Waves’ boasts of Granduciel’s aptitude for Americana-tinged rock classics – of course, enriched with engulfing shoegaze textures.

Lost In The Dream is best likened to hitting the open midnight road as Granduciel spills both his heart and mind, lyrically and musically.

Listen to ‘Red Eyes’ from Lost In A Dream here: 

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