Evolve Takes A Few Steps Back

Alternative rock band Imagine Dragons third and latest album, Evolve, is mediocre and disappointing.

Its content, which was released in June, is a gut punch of sorts to the legions of fans who were eagerly anticipating the group’s latest work.

Imagine Dragons, which consists of lead singer Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon on guitar, Ben Mckee who plays the bass and piano, and drummer, Daniel Platzman, debuted in 2012 with their hit single, It’s Time. It has produced dozens of hits during its run.

Evolve, which includes 11 songs, is stale and fails to improve on the group’s sound.  

In the new album, Imagine Dragons unsuccessfully adds what sounds like synthesizers to their traditional instrumentals. An example of this would be on the song, I Don’t Know Why. The song starts off with a high pitched synth that doesn’t mix well with the drums. It sounds like two different songs are being played on top of each other.   

On the album, the lyrics are catchy and simplistic, which makes them easy to sing along to. The only problem with them being so simple is that it is easy to get tired of a song. The lyrics aren’t deep enough to the point that you need to listen to it a million times to understand what the artist is trying to say; there is no room for interpretation. What you hear is what you get. That isn’t necessarily a negative thing, it just has to do with the style of the band.

The best part of this album are the vocals. Reynolds has a powerful voice, charged with emotion and passion. It’s especially notable in songs like Believer, Rise Up, Yesterday and Mouth of the River. His dynamic voice makes the songs worth listening to.

There is an overarching theme within the songs (excluding I’ll Make It Up to You, I Don’t Know Why and Dancing in the Dark.) The songs constantly bring up the idea of working hard to achieve your goals, or how you should not let other people’s expectations decide what you do in life. Also, they encourage the listener to appreciate the little victories that can lead to success.

Overall, Evolve is OK. It has a general feel-good message and some fun songs like: Believer, Yesterday, Rise up and I’ll Make it Up to You.

Even though I didn’t particularly like the electronic addition to their sound, I appreciate their attempt to try something new.