Album Review: Imagine Dragons ‘Evolve’

It’s been almost five years since Imagine Dragons released their debut album Night Visions, and there is no denying that they’ve come a long way. The success of both Night Visions and Smoke + Mirrors paved the way for the release of their latest collection of songs, Evolve.

Earlier this year, the group released “Believer”, the lead single from Evolve which hit number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The rock track is a crowd pleaser, with an upbeat sound but meaningful lyrics that are nowadays rare to find on the radio. Almost everyone interprets songs differently yet it’s pretty clear that this track is about becoming stronger, finding meaning and rising up because of pain that someone has endured. “Believer” was a perfect choice for a lead single, and despite what some critics have said about their past music, they are back stronger than ever with music ready to blow your mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1fWvi2Ys_o

“Whatever It Takes” could be the perfect choice for an upcoming single. It features frontman Dan Reynolds rapping on the verse before switching over to a catchy chorus that is guaranteed to get stuck in your head, which in this case may not be a bad thing. “I do whatever it takes, cause I love how it feels when I break the chains,” is a reminder (that everyone needs at one point or another) of the dedication and commitment needed to feel the satisfaction of reaching your goals and success.

Other tracks such as “I’ll Make It Up To You” “Dancing in the Dark” “Rise Up” and “I Don’t Know Why” show the diversity of Imagine Dragons as a group. They can go from singing a Coldplay style song, “I’ll Make It Up To You” about a rough relationship, to the much deeper “Rise Up” with lyrics like “The darkness right in front of me, oh, it’s calling out, and I won’t walk away”.

The entire Evolve tracklist is as follows:

  1. I Don’t Know Why

  2. Whatever It Takes

  3. Believer

  4. Walking The Wire

  5. Rise Up

  6. I’ll Make It Up To You

  7. Yesterday

  8. Mouth Of The River

  9. Thunder

  10. Start Over

  11. Dancing in the Dark

There are very few, minor negative things to be said about Evolve. “Yesterday” and “Start Over” sound similar, however, one could argue that it is Imagine Dragons’ music style and some tracks are supposed to have an alike sound.  Evolve was well worth the wait and Imagine Dragons have continued to put out quality rock music in the spotlight for half a decade.

How do you think Imagine Dragons did with Evolve? Let us know, @CelebMix.

Written by CelebMix