In Reverse is the third song to appear here from one of the most popular ‘Americana’ bands – The War on Drugs to sweep the music-world in the last decade. It’s an atmospheric and dreamy-vibe song which meanders for a good while and the listener uncertain where it will go. A bit like how the writer unveils himself, but this song eventually coalesces into something special…. If you look hard enough, you may find it. And this 2014 album ‘Lost in the Dream‘ took over 2 years for the band to get right. You can see the journey of this dream represented in In Reverse, the last song from the album.
You’ve been out in the street
Talkin’ ’bout the war with me
In the background is the night
Don’t wanna hesitate
Well, they tell me where you’re hidin’
But through the haze, there’s no one there
Wonderin’ if you care
Callin’ out your name in the darkness
When I’m done with my time here
And my keepsake is strollin’
Through the railways
But I never mind goin’
And I realize now
That the road is bare
And I hear it all
Through the grand parade
The 2014 album ‘Lost in the Dream‘ is one of the most acclaimed by critics and public in that year. The Pitchfork‘s Stuart Berman remarked that the album is “loaded with songs whose greatness is revealed slowly, where the simplest, most understated chord change can blow a track wide open and elevate it from simply pretty to absolutely devastating.’
According to Genius.com about In Reverse:
This is the most obvious Bob Dylan influenced song on the album. On how this track came together, frontman Adam Granduciel (lead singer and guitarist) explained in an interview:
“In Reverse” is one song that’s surprises me I wrote it. It’s one of those things that came about from mixing and arranging. At the last minute I started changing the song around. Now it’s a unified piece I can’t believe I fucking put this together….’
References:
1. Lost in the Dream – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I enjoyed that, a band I didn’t know but listening to the album now and it’s really good.
I’m chuffed you enjoyed it and discovering the album. There are 2 other songs from it which blow my mind:
The title track ‘Lost in a Dream’ and ‘Eyes to the Wind’. The latter I wrote about in an article.
Thanks so much for commenting Nick.
Regards,
Matt.
The War on Drugs are one of the greatest bands around today. I love their dreamy, expansive sound, and their intelligent songwriting and intricate guitar work are always exceptional.
Yeh, I suppose I wouldn’t know of what to compare them against these days. The National? Don’t know. Thanks for contributing here Jeff. It means a lot.
The National certainly rank up there.
I was thinking may be Imagine Dragon too, but I haven’t heard a lot of them or National. There are a few from each I like a lot and I know they are popular.
Imagine Dragons are good, but don’t measure up to the quality of songwriting and musicianship of The War on Drugs.
I won’t argue with you there from the little I have heard.