The month of July has arrived, and with it two milestones for 2017: The end to the first half of the year, and at last, the end of my test series. The whole month of June was dedicated to my course work and studying my mid-year tests, with one small (okay, BIG) disruption – Imagine Dragon’s latest album, ‘Evolve’.
(Source: Facebook, Image by Imagine Dragons)
I may have to admit, I was uncharacteristically excited about this new release. This event became my beacon of light, something to look forward to in this long month behind the textbooks. I saw it as a distraction from audit procedures and tax benefit calculations. So as much as I love Imagine Dragons, my enthusiasm was more directly linked to the timing of Evolve.
(Source: Facebook, Image by Imagine Dragons)
But let me not try take away from the pure awesomeness that is Evolve. For a few months now, we have been receiving tantalising teasers for what lies ahead. With ‘Levitate’ featuring on the soundtrack for Passengers, the new music video for ‘Thunder’, and ‘Believer’ gracing our charts for the past few months, we really couldn’t expect much less.
(Source: Facebook, Image by Imagine Dragons)
We all know of Imagine Dragon’s 2012 release of “Night Vision”, the album that flung them into our iTunes library with ‘Radioactive’ and "It’s Time". “Smoke & Mirrors” (2015) was a fantastic album, but it was quite experimental and it took me a number of listens to warm up to some of the tracks. It’s definitely not the album you would use to introduce someone to the band, but we all have a few tracks we often still listen to (mine are “Smoke & Mirrors”, ‘Warriors’, and ‘Gold’).
(Source: Facebook, Image by Imagine Dragons)
Imagine Dragons is such a difficult group to box into a specific genre, and I have tried (and failed) to find a band whose music resembles that of this band. I think this unique quality of theirs is what makes them so great – that, and Dan Reynolds’ INCREDIBLE voice. (Please watch this video just to appreciate his unbelievable talent.) So sometimes I get a little sad when I can’t listen to new music that’s similar to Imagine Dragon, but then they release a new album and all is well .
(Source: Facebook, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons at Reading Festival by BBC Hot Button)
Music itself is a form of art, and is continuously evolving (pun intended). So some purist fans would claim commercialisation, but I think it’s more important for these musicians to experiment and to try out some new things, instead of just “sticking to what they know”. Music would grow so much more if the followers gave these artists an opportunity to explore without fear of alienating their fans. We learned to love “Smoke & Mirrors”, although it was very different from what we were accustomed. And we were rewarded with ‘Evolve’. So with this I’ll say that I have faith in Imagine Dragons and any track that they send my way.
(Source: Facebook, Image by Imagine Dragons)
‘Evolve’ is great combination of these previous two releases by Imagine Dragons. The one aspect that I really enjoyed about this album was the way in which the sounds returned to the band’s roots from “Night Visions” (and the preceding EP’s), without losing the exciting ones developed in “Smoke & Mirrors”.
(Source: Facebook, Image by Imagine Dragons)
My absolute favourite track is the first one, “I Don’t Know Why”. There’s something about it that reminds me so much the The Weeknd (think “The Hills”?), but with that dramatic jump into the chorus, in a style that only Imagine Dragons can pull off.
“Walking the Wire” is one of those nostalgic reminders of their earlier music. It’s sort of reminds me of becoming friends again with someone you knew during your childhood. Same-same, but different – In a beautiful way. It’s more mature, with a subtle reminder of the past. It puts a smile on my face.
(Source: Facebook, Image by Jaromir Zajda Zajicek)
With 13 tracks, one remix by Kaskade, Imagine Dragons was most definitely not holding back with 'Evolve'. While we wait patiently for the next release, I will sit here and memorise the lyrics so that one day when this amazing band decides to grace South Africa with its presence, I can stand right at the front and sing some of my favourite songs with one of my favourite bands.
(Source: Facebook, Imagine Dragons)
