10 Best Genre-Blending Rock Albums Of The 2010s
5. Lost In The Dream - The War On Drugs (2013)
The aptly named album Lost In The Dream, was a swirling composite of ambient synthesizers, duelling guitars, driving drums and lead singer Adam Granduciel cathartic lyricism.
The lyrical themes centred around Granduciel's struggle with depression, but despite that, the album had a sense of hopefulness to it. There were slower, more self-indulgent tracks, sure, but everything always felt like it was in motion. There was a deliberateness to the record.
Granduciel's musical influences are on full display throughout, with Neil Young and Bob Dylan being obvious points of reference, particularly when it comes to their vocal performances. This was made evident almost immediately, with the opening track Under the Pressure, featuring one of Granduciel's more Dylan-like vocal deliveries.
He knows when to deploy and combine his musical influences effectively. The track Suffering was oozing with Young-esque vocals, and the music itself felt like a track from Dylan's 1989 record Oh Mercy, but don't be mistaken, nothing about this felt derivative.
If you missed this album when it first came out, you're lucky. Now you get to experience all of its beauty for the first time. Save it for a road trip, you wont be disappointed.