On my first listen it was immediately reminiscent of ‘Demons’, only more produced and more in line with Imagine Dragons’ slightly poppier sound. This is followed by ‘Bad Liar’, one of the strongest tracks on the album. By being easy to listen to, with little to either praise or complain about, it becomes almost nondescript as a song. It’s very easy to listen to, which is both a good and a bad thing. Then comes ‘Cool Out’, a rather peaceful and laid back depiction of the transience of relationships from the point of view of the rejector. Nevertheless, ‘Machine’ is a strong song with a brilliant single cover. ‘Not a part of your machine’, in particular, seems slightly ironic coming from one of the biggest bands on the planet. The song, despite being arguably political in nature, can also be applied to countless facets of modern life however, by being nondescript and appealing to as many ideologies as possible, it falls flat at times.
After comes recent single ‘Machine’, a rebellious protest song about standing out from the crowd and making a stand for what you think is right. Admittedly slightly clichéd, as much of the album is at times, it doesn’t harm the song, which seems to also hark back to debut ‘Night Visions’. Next up is ‘Boomerang’, an almost nostalgic track and a mirror image of ‘Natural’, discussing how hard it is for Reynolds to let go and move on how, however he tries, he always comes back to the same thought: ‘just because it isn’t easy, doesn’t mean that it is wrong’. The album opens with lead single ‘Natural’, a phenomenally powerful song laden with grief and rage lyrically, it manages to encompass both the pain faced after Reynolds’ divorce and the conflict between the Mormon Church, which he is part of, and the LGBT community, which Imagine Dragons have always been outspoken defenders of.
Most notably, the skinless giant of ‘Bad Liar’, bare to the world, seems reflective of the rawness of a heart when broken, arguably reflective for Dan Reynolds’ recent divorce with his wife of seven years, Aja Volkman - and that’s just the artwork.
#WHEN IS THE NEXT IMAGINE DRAGONS ALBUM COMING OUT FULL#
The industrially cybernetic ‘Natural’, full of shades of abyssal black and ominous reds, the familial, mid-twentieth century vibes of ‘Zero’, the modern rendition of one of the most iconic album covers found in ‘Machine’, the depressed and vulnerable skinless giant of ‘Bad Liar’ and the almost agrarian overarching hope of ‘Origins’ all manage to convey both the meanings of the songs and the mental states from which the songs were derived. Speaking of the artwork, all five covers released so far have, in typical Imagine Dragons style, been astonishing. That can be seen just in the eclectic nature of their four singles the ferocious and standout opening track ‘Natural’, the surprisingly uplifting ‘Zero’, the rebellious ‘Machine’ (the artwork of which is a modern mirroring of Pink Floyd’s ‘The Division Bell’) and the emotional ‘Bad Liar’. That’s not to say it isn’t good: by taking risks, Imagine Dragons have propelled their sound far beyond what was previously possible. Imagine Dragons’ fourth album ‘Origins’ - mirror album to 2017’s ‘Evolve’, which resulted in the band being named Billboard’s ‘Biggest Band of 2017’ - is the most experimental collection of songs they’ve put out yet.
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