Imagine Dragons’ Album “Evolve” Returns Band to their Roots
With their first studio album, Imagine Dragons introduced the world to percussion-influenced pop music, notably when they burst onto the scene with their hit song, ‘Radioactive’.
While most can instantly recognize four songs off of Night Visions (Radioactive, It’s Time, On Top Of The World, and Demons), the band’s sophomore album Smoke + Mirrors didn’t see nearly the same success. This isn’t to say it was a bad album (in fact, it is one of my favorite albums of all time), but personally I don’t think it was marketed particularly well. While ‘I Bet My Life’ is a good song, it was a pretty weak choice for the album’s first single. As of June 23, 2017, it doesn’t even appear in Spotify’s top ten on the band’s profile. Rather, the last five songs of the album are the strongest and most interesting, and should have received more attention.
But I digress.
I’m here to review the new album — not the old one — so let’s get into it.
Album Art:
This is the first of many ways Imagine Dragons channels their first album with Evolve. The floating individual in the center of the album is reminiscent of the subject on the cover of Night Visions. This also throws back to their oddly timed single (shortly after Smoke + Mirrors, and long before Evolve was a thing), ‘Roots’ (see title reference). Looks like Roots was the first hint to the theme and sound of Evolve, reverting back to the band’s old sound.
There’s not much else to it. Other than the font, it doesn’t resemble the prior album much.
Singles (in order of release):
Believer — Robust choice for the first single. It certainty helped return the band to its percussive origins. It will never be Radioactive, but it may come close.
Thunder — Wow. This song sure as hell shook me a bit upon first listen; I hated it. The generic pop beat with the EDM-influenced and altered voice singing the word “Thunder” as a rhythmic and harmonic device first convinced me that Imagine Dragons sold out. I thought they were pulling a Linkin Park (re: their song “Heavy” feat. Kiiara). ***PLOT TWIST ALERT*** But this tune REALLY grew on me. Wayne Sermon’s guitar solo at the end seals the deal. The song will definitely win over some new fans of hardcore pop artists by smoothly incorporating pop into their usual sound.
Whatever It Takes — Best (or second best) song on the album. Also happens to be most similar to the Night Visions vibe, but I dig it.
Walking The Wire — A fine song. Somewhat evocative of the Smoke + Mirrors vibe, which I appreciate, but others might not.
The Rest of the Album:
I Don’t Know Why — My hesitation to name ‘Whatever It Takes’ my favorite song is due to this track. The leadoff song should have been the first single. When the beat kicks in with the admittedly very basic chorus (“I don’t know why / but I guess it’s got something to do with you”), you pick up exactly what Dan Reynolds puts down as he sets the stage for the rest of the album. The song is catchy enough to be popular (not of ‘Radioactive’-level popularity, but certainly radio-worthy) and deserves the most attention of the non-singles.
Rise Up — The fifth track of Evolve features a little bit of everything, from chill verses to ‘Demons’-esque choruses, and a soft bridge that sets up a shout chorus and ultimately a typical Imagine Dragons guitar solo.
I’ll Make It Up To You — The song is okay, but it seems like its chorus is just a poor man’s ‘I Don’t Know Why’. The wailing guitar at the end is nice, however typical of the band.
Yesterday — This song seems to me as the equivalent of ‘Polaroid’ — from the previous album — in terms of its eccentricity that doesn’t exactly match the rest of the album. It somewhat interrupts it, but not necessarily in a bad way. The guitar interlude towards the end also reminds me of their vastly underrated song, ‘Hopeless Opus’. (Also the first three seconds make me think of ‘Submarines’ by the Lumineers — isn’t that bizarre?)
Mouth Of The River — Predominantly a rock song until you get to the remix-like repetition of the song title in the chorus; an example of how Imagine Dragons excels in blending genres throughout this album. A solid song.
Start Over — Certainly one of the best songs on the album. Unique beat with a flute-powered interlude during the chorus (another reference to ‘Hopeless Opus’). One of my favorite tracks that I’m sure will not get enough attention.
Dancing In The Dark — I’m honestly not sure what to think about this one. With this final track, I think the band tries to lead into a new sound (maybe their next album?) rather than wrap up the LP. The song is harmonically basic, but the vocals are rather strange. The bridge, which samples the lyrics from the chorus, almost sounds like an attempt at channeling Daft Punk’s sound, but does so unsuccessfully and leaves the album without a conclusion.
Final Thoughts:
Evolve is an amalgamation of sounds that appear throughout Imagine Dragons’ prior discography, however predominantly featuring Night Visions. Yet, the band throws pop, EDM, and rock influences into the mix, once again producing a sound that none have yet to replicate. Despite some weak spots and a lack of conclusiveness, Evolve excels on the whole.
