The War on Drugs: Lost in the Dream (2LP) [SECRETLY CANADIAN]

Why you'll love it

Lost in the Dream topped critics' year-end lists all over the place in 2014 and turned Adam Granduciel's band from a cult favourite into one of the biggest indie rock acts around. It's a widescreen, late-night driving record of the highest order.

This edition

• 2LP set, 10 tracks
• Secretly Canadian pressing
• Produced by Adam Granduciel

About the album

Adam Granduciel came off the road after the band's second album in a bad way, struggling with loneliness and anxiety, and he spent two years in the studio writing, rewriting and obsessively layering what became Lost in the Dream. All that work shows in the best possible way: it's a shimmering, immersive record that pulls you in and doesn't let go.

You can hear Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., Dire Straits, Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Spacemen 3 in the mix, but it never sounds retro. "Under the Pressure" opens with nine glorious minutes of motorik drive, "Red Eyes" has a whoop that makes crowds lose their minds, and "An Ocean in Between the Waves" and "Burning" are pure open-road euphoria. One of the great rock records of the 2010s.

Also at Kops: more The War on Drugs on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Secretly Canadian, first out in 2014.