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The War On Drugs – Lost in the Dream

Started by CaledonianGonzo, March 20, 2014, 08:20:19 PM

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CaledonianGonzo

Wow.  Very eighties.  Much Boss.  Good song filled.  Such Springsteen.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ9IXScip68

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsoqmFL1vlU

Seems to be a mate of Kurt Vile's, but that's a bit of a misleading comparison, as this is a gulf of quality away from that.  Oddly also reminiscent of things like M83 and Caribou.  Shimmery yet gritty.  Hip yet not.

No concern.

Serge

Quote from: CaledonianGonzo on March 20, 2014, 08:20:19 PMVery eighties.

Too eighties for my liking. I have an irresistable urge to jog around the shop wearing a headband whenever I hear it. That can't be right.

CaledonianGonzo

Feel the power of the Linns and learn to love your Inner Knopfler!

the psyche intangible

Background music to me but very nice. Vile was a member of them and same with him it's background music.

CaledonianGonzo

At least he's put his clothes on since he was on the cover of Dog Man Star.

I like this a lot and plan to cruise moodily down the freeway listening to its smooth sounds this weekend.

I don't particularly dig yer Springsteen or Tom Petty but something about epic 80s-sounding rock fused with shoegazey effects and a spacey feel (reminiscent of Kurt Vile, funnily enough) is terribly appealing, although Lost in the Dream's weaker moments ('Burning') are a tad too derivative-sounding.

Although it has tighter songwriting and stronger vocals than Kurt Vile, I wouldn't say its a gulf of quality away from KV.  Kurt's repetitive songs and sleepy-sounding voice have their own appeal which Lost in the Dream doesn't quite surpass, for me.

Tiny Poster

Listening to this now - he sounds like Tim Burgess

Crabwalk

#7
It's pleasant enough but ultimately you're better off listening to 'Boys of Summer' on repeat.

Edit: Please note that this is my possibly unfair and rash conclusion having listened to the album once three days ago. Thank you. And, yes, he does sound like Tim Burgess.

mobias

I've just discovered this band via hearing the new single on 6 Music and really like them. Its the sort of shoe gazing or dream pop/rock/whatever the fuck you want to call it that America seems to excel in these days. I checked out their other stuff on Spotify and I'm most impressed. My girlfriend unfortunately hates them and claims to think they sound like Bryan Adams. There doesn't appear to be anyway to convince her otherwise.

Tiny Poster

I don't see why they're so great compared to their contemporaries. Is it merely the Springsteen bits?


I'm all for repetition and percolating drones but a lot of the songs on this album just seemed to go nowhere on an extended trip.

Kane Jones

Heard this yesterday and have just ordered the vinyl as a consequence.  I like it lots.

CaledonianGonzo

Some (possibly) unfair dismissals of this based on a cursory inspection, I feel.

The Tim Burgess thing is *slightly* there, but that nasal inflection that crops up here and there is all Bob. 

It's a fine line to walk without going full Bruce Hornsby, but to my mind this is avoiding the pitfalls into which the likes of Deacon Blue fell headlong[nb] Apart from, like Dignity and Real Gone Kid[/nb].  There's a weight to the production, some deep krautrocky motorisms underpinning it and garagey sax stuff in curlicues at the edges as well.  An album to lose yourself in.  Very possibly an album exclusively designed for 80s kids grown older who dug Walk Of Life when they were 8 years old but haven't listened to it much since.


Tiny Poster

Quote from: CaledonianGonzo on March 21, 2014, 07:45:32 PM

The Tim Burgess thing is *slightly* there, but that nasal inflection that crops up here and there is all Bob. 



Yeah, he's trying to do early 70s Dylan and it comes out like Burgess doing Dylan.

amoral

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ9IXScip68#t=120

So, so very good.  A genuinely affecting tune, as opposed to the calculated emotionalism of Mumford and Sons and their like.

amoral

Reminds me of The Waterboys in the best way possible.

Crabwalk

I seem to be alone in preferring Slave Ambient over this new one. Yes, the sound is rougher but I think that better suits the drone aspect of their music and prevents it from drifting off into the background. I also think it has heftier tunes. As I said upthread Lost in the Dream is undoubtedly 'pleasant' to listen to but it hasn't really moved me as yet[nb]Other than to continually think 'ooh, this bit sounds like Bryan Adams/Bruce Hornsby/Tim Burgess/Bruce Springsteen/Stewart Lee'[/nb].

CaledonianGonzo

For the first time in an age I had that nagging 'gotta listen to this album again' moment this morning with this.

I'd call this an exercise in 80s classicism rather than just classicism per se.  Less pejorative reference points that spring to mind at the minute include (perhaps unsurprisingly) Kate Bush and Neil Young (ballads like Wrecking Ball in particular).

The third track ('Suffering') and particularly the instrumental break in the middle reminds me a bit of John Lennon's 70s music, which would usually be a fairly unappealing prospect for me, but the track also reminds me of 'County Line' by Cass McCombs, which I like.  I see that WoD have covered 'Mind Games' so they do seem to have some love for solo Lennon.

I've also grown to like possibly the most blatantly Springsteen-y track, 'Burning' which I slagged off slightly up-thread.  Its influences are a bit blatant, but it sure does soar. 

El Unicornio, mang

Listening to this now. I like it generally, reminds me of a lot of different things (Dire Straits, Dylan, Petty, World Party and some others I can't quite put my finger on) but with a blend that makes it sound unique. Not hearing Tim Burgess at all. The songs are pretty good, if a little unremarkable at times. My main gripe is the long meandering bits at the end of each song. Not sure that they do anything except make the album feel a bit bloated. Nice overall though. I can imagine it being the soundtrack album to an 80s movie.

Beagle 2

This reminds me very much of the sort of music that would drift out of my dad's car stereo on trips back and forth over the Pennines as a child. The kind of music I rebelled against as a younger man, but now find very comforting. I like it a lot.