Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	A−
Chicago Tribune
The Guardian
The Independent
NME	9/10
Pitchfork Media	8.8/10
Q
Rolling Stone
Spin	9/10

Lost in the Dream is the third studio album by American indie rock band The War on Drugs, released on March 18, 2014 through Secretly Canadian. The album debuted at number 26 on the Billboard 200 and received universal acclaim from critics upon its release, appearing on and topping numerous end-of-year best album lists. The album produced five singles: "Red Eyes", "Under the Pressure", "Burning", "Eyes to the Wind", and "An Ocean in Between the Waves", all of which were released as radio promotional singles only.

The recording session, which took place over a two-year period, was characterized by numerous rewrites. The album's lyrical theme were influenced by the loneliness and depression Granduciel faced after he finished touring. Musically, the record was inspired by 1980s rock, as well as Americana, with influences coming from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Spacemen 3 and Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

After The War on Drugs' second album Slave Ambient was released to much critical acclaim, primary songwriter Adam Granduciel spent much of 2011 touring. After the tour was finished, Granduciel had a hard time adjusting to everyday life, later recounting that such feelings "started to spiral into emotional distress and physical manifestations of depression and paranoia." This depression and paranoia served as an inspiration to the lyrical theme of Lost in the Dream.

Recording on the album began in the summer of 2012 and took place over a two-year period in Philadelphia, New York City, North Carolina, and New Jersey. Granduciel wrote all the songs on the album. The album's recording was characterized by Granduciel's anxiety and second-guessing, with Granduciel remarking "I started going off the rails a little bit in my own head, getting a little too sucked in."

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