The War On Drugs "Lost In The Dream" 2014****

I got this one as a Christmas present - I'm easy in that respect, friends always know what to get me. This is a CD I was eager to listen to, since it featured on the top of many end-of-the-year lists of 2014. A lot of classic rock acts were name-checked as influences: Springsteen, Dylan, Pink Floyd and Neil Young. I hear some of them but I get more of an 80's feel myself: The Waterboys or Cure. In any case the album is quite original in its assimilation of various influences and worth the accolades of the music press. Keybords construct a hazy atmosphere for the songs to float in. The guitars on the other hand are surprisingly clean, eloquent but for the most part relaxed. Drums typically settle into a relentless monotonous rhythm reminiscent of kraut rock acts like Can and Neu! Opener "Under the Pressure" is a sprawling 9-minute epic the with atmospheric 80's keyboard sounds. To be fair the last 3 minutes are nothing but ambiance, deemed perhaps necessary as a palate cleanser for the next course: lead single "Red Eyes" is similar to the 1st track but faster and fuller, the band breaking through the synth-created fog with some stirring rock. "Suffering" is slow and dreamy alt.country haunted by the specter of 'Floyd circa '69. "An Ocean in Between the Waves" has a driving beat while the song builds up slowly with rousing guitars and vocals towards the end. "Disappearing" is another atmospheric piece with fluid guitar work. "Eyes to the Wind" reminds of late period Dylan while "The Haunting Idle" is an instrumental with no apparent value other than facilitate the flow of the album. "Burning" is one of the highlights and sounds like Springsteen set to a kraut rock beat. "Lost in the Dream" has some folky harmonica and "In Reverse" a long ambient intro with the song proper kicking into existence around the 3' mark. This use of spaces in War On Drugs is one of the things that sets them apart and establishes them as a band with strong roots in music history but an individual and timeless sound. I tend now to side along music critics and declare this album a classic. Individual songs work well enough but to really appreciate it you must immerse yourself into its atmosphere and enjoy its flow from start to finish. Oh, and by the way: great album title...

**** for Under the Pressure, Red Eyes, An Ocean in Between the Waves, Burning

*** for Suffering, Disappearing, Eyes to the Wind, Lost in the Dream, In Reverse

** for The Haunting Idle