If you turned on your radio during the summer of 2012, then you’ve almost definitely heard the upbeat sound of Imagine Dragons’ single “It’s Time.” The double-platinum single — released as a track on their first studio album, “Night Visions” — helped Imagine Dragons become an international success.
This week marked the release of the Las Vegas natives’ second studio album “Smoke + Mirrors.” Unfortunately, this album doesn’t live up to the beautiful, experimental music of its predecessor.
As you make your way through the album, each track blends into the next with few sounds truly standing out. In such a short time, Imagine Dragons seem to have made a very stereotypical sound for their music and that was the downside to “Smoke + Mirrors.” Front man Dan Reynolds’ voice was pleasant throughout, but failed to channel the same power that was present in “Night Visions.”
Following the release of “Night Visions,” Imagine Dragons triumphed everywhere from Grammy and Billboard awards to being featured on EA’s “FIFA 13” soundtrack. Needless to say, fans had high hopes for the sophomore album from Billboard’s “The Breakout Band of 2013” — the 13-track album was self-produced by the band along with British hip-hop producer Alex da Kid (Alexander Grant), who also produced their first studio album.
While many tracks seemed too bland to remember their names for future examination, some tracks did warrant a mention for notability. The two singles off the album, “I Bet My Life” and “Shots,” had the sound that made “Night Visions” such a success. Out of the remaining 11 tracks, “Hopeless Opus” stood out for both its name and sound.
During the 2014 Grammys, Imagine Dragons performed an astounding set with Kendrick Lamar, each performing their most popular singles at the time. Imagine Dragons sang what was arguably their most popular song, “Radioactive,” and Kendrick Lamar rapped to his hit single “m.A.A.d City.” The performance left viewers in awe from the energy and creativity each party showed.
More recently, the band covered Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” for BBC Radio 1 and incorporated Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” to make a catchy cover of an already popular song.
If Imagine Dragons had taken some of the aforementioned experimentation and applied it to their album, it would have created a much more memorable experience. Overall, “Smoke + Mirrors” was a sophomore album that could not live up to the music that made Imagine Dragons stars. “Night Visions” aside, this album was still an overall disappointment that needed a much wider range of sound. Whenever the band begins writing their third album, they need to shy away from these bland songs.