Lost in the Dream

Lost in the Dream
Studio album by The War on Drugs
Released	March 18, 2014
Recorded	August 2012–November 2013
Genre	Indie rock, neo-psychedelia, Americana
Length	60:27
Label	Secretly Canadian
Producer	Adam Granduciel
The War on Drugs chronology
Slave Ambient (2011) Lost in the Dream (2014)
Singles from Lost in the Dream
"Red Eyes" Released: December 4, 2013 "Under the Pressure" Released: May 26, 2014 "Burning" Released: August 11, 2014 "Eyes to the Wind" Released: December 8, 2014

Lost in the Dream is the third studio album by American indie rock band The War on Drugs, released on March 18, 2014 through Secretly Canadian.^[1] The album debuted at number 26 on the Billboard 200 and received universal acclaim upon its release, appearing on and topping numerous end-of-year charts. The album produced four singles: "Red Eyes", "Under the Pressure", "Burning" and "Eyes to the Wind".

The recording session, which took place over a two year period, was characterized by numerous rewrites. The album's lyrical theme were influenced by the loneliness and depression Granduciel faced after he finished touring. Musically, the record was inspired by 1980s rock, as well as Americana, with influences coming from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Spacemen 3.

Background

After Slave Ambient was released to much critical acclaim, primary songwriter Adam Granduciel spent much of 2011 touring. After the tour was finished, Granduciel had a hard time adjusting to everyday life, saying "It started to spiral into emotional distress and physical manifestations of depression and paranoia." This depression and paranoia served as an inspiration to the lyrical theme of Lost in the Dream.^[2][3]

Production

Recording

Recording on the album began in the summer of 2012 and took place over a two year period in Philadelphia, New York, North Carolina, and New Jersey.^[1] Granduciel wrote all the songs on the album.^[4] The album's recording was characterized by Granduciel's anxiety and second-guessing, with Granduciel remarking "I started going off the rails a little bit in my own head, getting a little too sucked in."^[5]

Songs on the album went through several versions. Granduciel scrapped the original demo for "An Ocean in Between the Waves" two weeks before the album was supposed to be turned in to the record company after spending a year writing the song, saying that "it wasn't the vibe of the song that I was searching for."^[4][5] "Suffering" went through several variations before Granduciel decided go back to the original demo.^[5]

Music

The music on Lost in the Dream is inspired by 1980s rock, as well as Americana and Krautrock.^[6][7][8] Examples of artists from that era that influenced the album's overall sound include Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, The Waterboys and Spacemen 3.^[6][9][10] The album's sound is characterized by synthesizers, keyboards, horns and "ambient guitars".^[9][11] Whereas the previous albums by The War on Drugs contained several instrumental tracks, Lost in the Dream only has one instrumental track, "The Haunting Idle".^[12]

Critics have compared the song "Burning" to Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and Rod Stewart's "Young Turks".^{[6][9][12][13]} Fleetwood Mac's influence was noted on "An Ocean in Between the Waves", while Pitchfork Media compared "Disappearing" to Tears for Fears' "Pale Shelter".^[6][9][14]

Cover artwork

The album cover features an image of Adam Granduciel standing in front of a window in his home. Granduciel commented on how the album's artwork was a reflection of his involvement in the recording process, saying "This wasn't a band record. This was a solo record. I knew that. They've all [The War on Drugs' albums] been solo records."^[4]

Release

The album was announced on December 4, 2013. That same day, the first single from the album, "Red Eyes" was released.^[1] The band debuted the tracks "Under the Pressure", "Eyes to the Wind", and "Burning" during the band's December 2013 tour of Australia.^[4][15] On March 5, 2014, a music video for "Red Eyes" was released.^[16] The album was streamed in its entirety on March 10, 2014 on The Guardian‍ '​s website.^[17] On August 20, 2014, a music video for "Under the Pressure" was released.^[18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[19]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Consequence of Sound	A+[12]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[20]
The Guardian	[7]
MusicOMH	[10]
NME	9/10[14]
Pitchfork Media	8.8/10[6]
Rolling Stone	[21]
Slant	[22]
Spin	9/10[11]

Lost in the Dream has received acclaim from contemporary music critics. On Metacritic, the album has a score of 86 out of 100 from 40 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[19]

Dan Caffrey of Consequence of Sound gave the album a grade of A+, writing "[T]he more you spin it, the more you wear out that thin needle of your record player, you realize that Granduciel is discovering the problems of his life, not figuring them out or even reflecting on them. This all makes for an album that truly sounds like it’s coming to life."^[12] Pitchfork Media's Stuart Berman gave the album a Best New Music designation, writing "The album is loaded with songs whose greatness is revealed slowly, where the simplest, most understated chord change can blow a track wide open and elevate it from simply pretty to absolutely devastating."^[6] Ross Horton of MusicOMH gave the album a score of 5 out of 5 stars, writing "To those of you out there who crave immediate, wistful pop music that will make you smile about the future and make you cry about the past, you won’t find a better album this decade. It’s a tender, inviting, consoling, comforting record that you’ll play again and again (stoned or not). In short, Lost In The Dream is perfect in every way."^[10] Allmusic's Fred Thomas called Lost in the Dream " the War on Drugs' Daydream Nation or Disintegration", writing "It's a near flawless collection of dreamy vibes, shifting moods, and movement, and stands easily as Granduciel's finest hour so far."^[9]

Not all critics were entirely positive. Mike Powell of Rolling Stone gave the album a more mixed review, writing "Seven-minutes-plus songs like 'In Reverse' and 'An Ocean in Between the Waves' have enough locomotion to go twice as long, while slower tracks like 'Suffering' are deadwood in search of a spark."^[21] In an otherwise positive review, Mike Walmsley of The 405 criticized the second half of the album, writing "Unfortunately, as they pass the Midwest on their road trip, the Mustang appears to have run out of gas."^[23]

Accolades

Based on 139 year-end top ten lists compiled by Metacritic, Lost in the Dream was the most critically acclaimed album of 2014, appearing on 54 lists and being named first on 13 of them.^[24] Paste named Lost in the Dream as their album of the year, writing "from all the muck and malaise that midlife produces, something beautiful and permanent has been revealed—an enduring contribution to the canon."^[25] Consequence of Sound named it their album of the year, writing "In tune with Granduciel’s way of evoking synchronicity, there’s a cosmic truth to Lost in the Dream triumphing this year. For one, Granduciel is personally seizing the crown off the head of his musical soulmate, Kurt Vile [...] and, for Secretly Canadian [...] it’s a poignant landmark following the year it lost its godfather, Jason Molina."^[26] Other publications that named Lost in the Dream as album of the year included Uncut,^[27] Q^[28] and Under the Radar.^[29] The album was ranked #2 on Mojo's, American Songwriter‍ '​s, MusicOMH's, Stereogum's and The Guardian‍ '​s best albums of the year list for 2014.^{[30][31][32][33][34]}

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Adam Granduciel, except where noted. 

Personnel

The following people contributed to Lost in the Dream:^[35]

The War on Drugs

• Dave Hartley – bass, fretless bass, percussion, synthesizer
• Adam Granduciel – ARP Omni, ARP String Ensemble, arranger, art direction, composer, drums, dubs, electronics, engineer, Fender Rhodes, guitar, guitar (12-string), guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric), harmonica, LinnDrum, mixing, Oberheim synthesizer, organ, percussion, photography, piano, producer, publishing, slide guitar, synthesizer, vocals, Wurlitzer, Wurlitzer piano
• Robbie Bennett – ARP String Ensemble, organ, piano, piano (grand), piano (upright), synthesizer, Wurlitzer, Wurlitzer piano
• Charlie Hall – drums
• Anthony LaMarca – guitar

Additional personnel

• Jon Ashley – assistant engineer, drums
• Brad Bell – engineer
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Dusdin Condren – cover photo, photography
• Steve Fallone – mastering assistant
• David Fishkin – saxophone
• Pat Berkery – drums, percussion
• Ricky Ray Jackson – pedal steel
• Michael Johnson – ARP 2600, composer, engineer, Eventide
• Sean Kelly – assistant engineer
• Jon Lowe – engineer
• Daniel Murphy – design, layout
• Jon Natchez – saxophone (baritone)
• Ted Richardson – assistant engineer
• Matt Schimelfenig – assistant engineer
• Joseph Shabason – saxophone
• Mike Sneeringer – drums
• Mike Sobel – lap steel guitar
• Paul Sukeena – guitar (electric)
• Carter Tanton – guitar (Leslie)
• Nicolas Vernhes – engineer, mixing, organ, tambourine
• Gabe Wax – assistant engineer, mixing assistant, tape effects
• Jeff Zeigler – additional production, drum programming, engineer, mixing, pitch adjustment, pre-mixing

Charts

References