Perhaps the greatest challenge facing arena rock is that the bands who have attained such lofty levels of success are increasingly bound by the safe, solid structures that got them there. Imagine Dragons, who smashed a hole through charts across the globe with Radioactive a couple of years back, are a case in point.
‘Smoke + Mirrors’, their second album, displays a restless creative streak, but one that never betrays the record's slick sheen. The result is a whole that is uneven, but strangely one-note thanks to the sort of bang-for-your-buck production that is now de rigueur in certain circles.
Whether Dan Reynolds is giving in to his inner Mumford and Son on I Bet My Life or helping Friction tumble from slick modern R&B into a straight-up nu-metal breakdown, it’s all done at the same chest-beating pace.
It is, like so many of their contemporaries at the top of the tree, as though this latest batch of songs have been precision engineered to make it all the way to the back of an enormodome.
The ambition of the record can’t be called into question, but there are many moments where the execution leaves something to be desired.
While their purpose is plain and signposted by echo pedals and swells of melody, Shots, the title track and Hopeless Opus - which is a rhyme, sort of - don’t deliver the desired rush. The presentation would suggest otherwise, but much of ‘Smoke + Mirrors’ is a little half-baked.
Given the band’s prowess in the live arena, the best moments here will doubtless get a new lease of life when rolled out across what is set to be another busy festival season. There’s real drive buried beneath the gloss on ‘Smoke + Mirrors’, and Imagine Dragons might do well next time around to indulge themselves and forget about where their music might end up.
Imagine Dragons Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu November 05 2015 - LONDON O2 Arena
Fri November 06 2015 - NOTTINGHAM Capital FM Arena
Tue November 10 2015 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Wed November 11 2015 - CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Fri November 13 2015 - MANCHESTER Arena
Sat November 14 2015 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Metro Radio Arena
Sun November 15 2015 - GLASGOW SSE Hydro
Tue November 17 2015 - BELFAST Odyssey Arena
Wed November 18 2015 - DUBLIN 3Arena
Fri November 20 2015 - BIRMINGHAM Barclaycard Arena
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