Album Review: Imagine Dragons “Smoke + Mirrors”

They’ve been taking over your airwaves for a couple years and now they’re releasing their sophomore album! Imagine Dragon’s highly anticipated second long play, “Smoke + Mirrors,” hit iTunes and record stores across the globe on February 17^th, 2015. The group is known for their very successful single “Radioactive,” off of their debut album “Night Visions.” “Night Visions” sold more than 80,000 copies in its first week and is certified double platinum.

Considering it’s been nearly three years since “Night Visions” was released, fans and connoisseurs of music alike have been on the edge of their seats. The singles from the album that the band released, starting a few months back, have been very successful. “Gold” and “I Bet My Life” were just what fans needed to hold them over. The rest of the album is not quite on par with the singles though. This thirteen track package has a varying sound and quality, dissimilar to their first release. When listening to the album in its entirety, it’s difficult to differentiate when one song ends and another starts, which is some cases can be good, but not so much here.

The album keeps in tune with the band’s overall genre, in a vague sense, but lacks the electronic and dynamic feel that “Night Visions” possessed. Of course it is to be expected that a new album doesn’t sound exactly like its predecessor but there is the assumption that there will be at least a similar sound. The hopes were high for this record but many fans will be disappointed. There are still some great tracks on the album, songs that will make for good singles. “Polaroid,” “Fiction,” and “Trouble” are catchy and better than average songs, but in comparison to their “Night Vision” counterparts, well, there is no comparison.

Go decide your own feelings about the album, check out “Smoke + Mirrors” for yourself on Spotify or iTunes! You can also pick up tickets to the Smoke + Mirrors World Tour, they’ll be at the Toyota Center on July 16^th!

By Bethany Polson