The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream

Just picked this up at a Quick-Pick location. It was sealed and only $5.99 CND. Sounds great and lives up to expectations. No hiss or pops on either vinyl records. What a great ethereal vibe. Love it!

Beautiful pressing, the purple swirl complements the cover perfectly. Sounds fantastic too, little to no surface noise.

Unfortunately my version is has a very poor pressing quality. A plenty of pops and cracks :(

So glad I managed to get this copy after reading the horror stories on the regular black pressing page. It sounds fantastic! I will agree with Killahwhale (review below me), about the "wobbly" guitar. The flanger/reverb effect on the guitar does sound different - i would say more "organic" - than the mp3's I've listened to. I think it's cool though.
One thing to note - my purple pressing is definitely purple but when it sits on my black slipmat it just ends up looking black.

This pressing sounds great, I tend to notice the guitar effect sounds a bit different on vinyl then MP3 on most of the tracks. Not sure if its the pressing or not. It sounds a little more "wobbly". Happy with this album as it's amazing.

anybody wind up with two A/B sides? I just bought a used copy from Amoeba SF, and it had two C/D's and no A/B :( I'd hate to have to return/refund this....

great album, great production. Very happy i pre-ordered the purple. This one will be a gem for years to come.

I’m standing around the back hall after the El Ten Eleven show talking with a group of self proclaimed music people, and naturally the conversation turns to War On Drugs, and why shouldn’t it [?], after all Kurt Vile had played this very venue almost a year ago to the day, with someone asking, “What do you think the new War On Drugs album’s gonna sound like?” That was quickly followed by another who nearly laughed remarking, “What won’t it sound like.” Of course my ears perked at these comments and as I turned on my heels, saying “Have any of you actually heard the album?” The hall was quiet until I went on, saying that I had, and that Lost In The Dream was not only quite good but very important, representing not only a smooth but remarkable step forward from Slave Ambient and every bit as intoxicating as Dylan’s step into Blonde On Blonde ... that with each song (and Lost In The Dream was recorded using analog tape) they mixed tape on tape creating a density that’s impossible to push through on one listen, delivering a constructional concept of intelligent hazy smoke filled neo-psychedelic enchantment that is both breathtaking in its beauty and laden with dreamy washes and sonic guitar solos designed to spirit your soul into another dimension ... though making the decision to come back, may be the most difficult part.

Lost In The Dream really is a beautiful body of work, one filled with some of the finest most considered guitar structures and insightful lyrics I’ve heard in a very long time, one I can’t get enough of, and having it on purple vinyl only makes things that much more remarkable and enticing. I find it hard to believe that in 2014, there will be an album released to best these efforts, and while I realize that’s a bold statement, I can count myself among the first to be lost in the dream.

Post Script: This album only gets better over time, it's like a dance among the stars. I got to see them live, preforming a nearly two hour show in Tucson at the Congress Hotel with less than 500 people in the venue, an event that must be heard to be believed.

Lost In The Dream has also been released as a double record gatefold on brilliant translucent purple vinyl, spinning a 33 rpm's. This is a limited edition of 400, finding one is nearly impossible, and mine has been autographed by Adam.

Lost In The Dream has been reissued by Vinyl Me Now as a double record gatefold on brilliant splattered lime green vinyl, along with a stunning print of a crow (though what the crow has to do with this album is still alluding me). By breaking the album down into two discs spinning at 33 rpm's allows the grooves to be thicker, hence achieving better quality and durability … trust me, hearing is believing, though with a limited edition of 2100 copies, it's tough to come by.

*At the time of this review and discussion, I had a pre-release copy.

Post Script: Caught the band in Tucson on the 8th of April 2014, it was nothing short of a transcendent magical moment ride, where just when you think you've caught your breath, they reach out and take it away from you again ... or perhaps I just lost my voice from signing too loudly. Caught them again in Denver, then in El Paso [creating T-Shirts for the occasion] where they this time had a tour bus, and I had a bit more time to hang with the band.

Review by Jenell Kesler

Mine just got shipped. Does anybody know how many purple pressings there are?