There are some reviews I\u2019ve written that I look back on and wholeheartedly agree with, whether it\u2019s one or nine (!) years later. No regrets on gushing over Death Cab For Cutie in 2006, but I\u2019m pretty sure I wouldn\u2019t go to the mat for the Kaiser Chiefs as the best album of 2005 over Arcade Fire\u2019s Funeral. <\/i>Live and learn! <\/p>\n
Which brings us to my effusive review of the 2012 debut from Las Vegas rockers Imagine Dragons. I was won over by their brand of catchy pop underpinned with darker, soul-searching lyrics \u2013 but then, so was the rest of the music world, as that disc brought the band a whole slew of accolades and worldwide sales, including the longest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 with \u201cRadioactive\u201d (produced by Alex Da Kid, who is back at the helm of Smoke + Mirrors)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
But as I\u2019m making my way through the band\u2019s sophomore release, I\u2019m wondering if I was a little too on the nose by comparing Imagine Dragons to OneRepublic, but with \u201cstaying power.\u201d Indeed, Smoke + Mirrors <\/i>debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, solidifying the Dragons as a behemoth in the pop-rock world. But in terms of sound, it seems as if the band is struggling with that eternal question: how do you follow up on a smash hit? How do you manage to grow your sound while still churning out the anthemic sing-alongs that got you so far? It\u2019s the double-edged sword of success, but it feels like the band was more concerned with style than substance on this disc.<\/p>\n
Things do start off strong with a batch of singles as Imagine Dragons does best, pairing rafter-raising melodies with lyrics that are shot through with despair and optimism. The first line of the disc is \u201cI\u2019m sorry for everything that I\u2019ve done,\u201d followed by vocalist Dan Reynolds bemoaning \u201cFrom the second I was born it seems I had a loaded gun \/ And then I shot, shot, shot a hole through everything I loved.\u201d The self-flagellation and regret is delivered via his soaring falsetto and tricked out with shimmering synths, creating a dynamic, almost U2 quality that the band can pull off at their best. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, one of the more unique offerings on the album, second single \u201cGold\u201d has a stuttering, hip-hop flair that matches the raw, ominous lyrics well. When Reynolds belts out, \u201cI\u2019m dyin\u2019 to feel again \/ Oh, anything at all \/ But I feel nothing\u201d as the wall of heavily reverbed guitars staggers and collapses around him, it\u2019s cynical and sinister and totally cool. Title track \u201cSmoke And Mirrors\u201d and lead single \u201cI Bet My Life\u201d are earnest, sweeping, stick-in-your-head pop, while \u201cI\u2019m So Sorry\u201d tries out a stomping, thunderous rock wail, to somewhat solid effect.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
But at barely the halfway point, the album starts to crumble and fray at the edges. Each song is diverse and elaborate (the band describes this disc as incorporating influences from around the world, which sounds as vague in theory as it does in practice); but it doesn\u2019t add up to a cohesive or a personal sound. I get the sense that the quartet was stretching at self-imposed boundaries, piling on new textures and instruments in an effort to do something new. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s why you get songs like the vague \u201cPolaroid\u201d that just trails along and the plodding, synth-drowned \u201cDream,\u201d or \u201cFriction,\u201d whose random Middle Eastern melody and sharp, stabbing vocals add up to a strange, unenjoyable listening experience. Dragging on to the end, \u201cHopeless Opus\u201d is unnecessarily cheesy, and not even Reynolds\u2019 lovely and dynamic voice can really save it, while there is no reason for closer \u201cThe Fall\u201d to last for six minutes. <\/p>\n
At 50 minutes long, Smoke + Mirrors <\/i>is an overlong slog that obscures much of what is actually endearing about Imagine Dragons. When they pare back all the theatrics, there is some talented songcraft here, and I bet a lot of these songs would sound great live. But as it stands now, Smoke + Mirrors <\/i>is as its title sounds: a lot of shine and a lot of bluster, but not a lot to hold on to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":32323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[9107],"rating":[11204],"class_list":["post-44075","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-imagine-dragons","rating-rating-c-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44075"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}