Evolve- Imagine Dragons Review

I've taken a lot of time thinking about how to review this album. I honestly expected it to be a lot better, but the electronics on the first three singles should've warned me. This album is a bit of an evolution in terms of style for Imagine Dragons, but it heads toward EDM, which isn't really evolution it's just trying to get more listeners by leaving behind a good style.

The album starts off with the completely electronic I Don't Know Why, which is a clearly designed to be a pop and dance hit. It's not bad for a dance song, but it sets the tone for the worst songs of the album, which sound like the band listened to EDM and RnB hits from the list ten years and tries to formulate them. This is continued in the god awful herky-jerky album closer Dancing in the Dark, the RnB copy song I'll Make it Up to You(which has a decent guitar solo), and the other terrible RnB copy, Start Over. These songs have a theme to them: they copy mainstream songs, are EDM and RnB inspired, and are breakup songs that have no emotional weight because they enter no new territory.

Leaving those songs aside, there are a few decent songs on the record.  Believer is okay, but the guitar is too muted and the drums sound electronic. The acoustic version of Believer is a lot better, and carries the same message with much improved music. Whatever it Takes is a great uplifting song with lots of variation, from almost murmuring to gigantic choruses, which Imagine Dragons really needed.  I've already reviewed Walking the Wire when it came out a couple weeks ago as a single, but to sum it up, its a classic Imagine Dragons arena rock song which is good because it doesn't try anything fancy and has some good guitar in it. Rise Up is a good guitar driven track not-so-subtly explaining how Dan Reynolds wants to do good in his life, but has the same bad electronic chorus as Thunder. Yesterday is a piano driven loud and folksy track, with large choruses and hand claps and a guitar solo which all makes it feel like it could've been a bonus track on Smoke+Mirrors. Mouth of the River is a falsetto full song that mishmashes their styles, because its driven by both guitars and glittering synths. Thunder is decent and a bit uplifting, but kinda ruins it with its electronic choruses. It does have a good double guitar solo, one which is normal and one which mirrors the weird overly wawa-sticked ones on Bleeding Out and Gold.

On the whole, Imagine Dragons hasn't really evolved very much. Yes, the have terrible EDM/RnB songs like I Don't Know Why, I'll Make it Up to You, Dancing in the Dark and Start Over, but they're slightly outweighed by the decent songs. The A-sides are relatively electronic, but are still good. The best B-sides are Rise Up and Mouth of the River, but all the good B-sides are basically Smoke+Mirrors or Night Visions repeats, with some new electronic sounds. Their last album wasn't very unified in sound, but this album is even more chaotic with its added EDM in additin to the pop rock, folk rock, and whatever else was on the last album. Hopefully Imagine Dragons heads in the direction of Rise Up, with more variation and some good electronics but a few cringe worthy ones, and the proven drums guitar and arena rock sound. Only time will tell if they make a good evolution, or go the terrible way of Maroon 5 or some of Coldplay's recent pop mistakes.