Imagine Dragons are in your gym playlist. They’re in your pick me up playlist. Generally anything regarding pop rock positivity for the past decade and a half, this band has made its name. Enjoying a meteoric rise when desperation and sorrow was at an all time high, the band flipped the switch. It was a massive gamble, but clearly the world needed to hear stadium chants from a charming shirtless man. Someone who preached love, and believed in it too. They return to Super Bowl-sized sound with their latest album, LOOM.
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Now would be a great time to flip the switch again. We have had Covid, few wars, devastating recession and chronic depression for an entire generation. Can connecting to people through what they’re feeling help? Imagine Dragons say no. LOOM reaches into pop rock territory with more of a pop sound, but scaling it to frighten the fireworks. Frontman Dan Reynolds dazzling smile and connection to listeners has always been the hallmark of the band. From their opening single Wake Up, they go for a 90s rhythm pocket, with Reynolds using his signature ram-ana-tab-ana-siburamanaganama chants. Not only do I lose any sense of semblance of the lyrics, but the attention is to the rhythm. They have been an amazing rhythm band to listen to.
Signature sounds are not easy to develop in this era. You are looking at the ever swallowing pipeline that is the internet, millions of songs splurging out every day. Yet in 2008, Imagine Dragons broke into the spotlight, with their 2012 album practically building a residence on the Billboard Charts. I have seen the band live. They can make a crowd go wild with their hits, for everyone knows the songs. Whether they like them or not.
There actually isn’t anything not to like. It is flowering positivity. Their thumping beats are catchy. Their sound is unique. It also led them to being overplayed as hell. From malls, shops and street performances, Imagine Dragons has been used more than a “that’s what she said joke” by this time. Maybe slightly lesser. What all does LOOM have then, their 5th album? Them either trying to break out of their own registered sound, or relying heavily on it. Doesn’t seem like they have quite decided.
They have meme level delivery with their opening single. Just like “The Boys” Bones meme, it’s the monotonous verse build to a catchy chorus they depend on. Lyrics are still positive, of course Snickers don’t hold full marathons. The brand is bigger than the band, and they’re doing a lot to concretise that image.
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A synth styled pop number comes in Nice to Meet You. I will not deny the level of production, it is immense and matches their fantasy level scale. Mellow single like this will make you dance in the crowd, sure it is as magnetic as they can make this kind of verse section. The chorus part also features spoken word, which I don’t think I have ever heard from Imagine Dragons. Then also, I don’t hear them nowadays outside the slippery, sweaty dungeon that is my gym.
Eyes Closed has already been on several of my basketball related YT shorts. There is a hip-hop aura, but white boy hip-hop. Something that appeals to the masses, but relies more on the quick rhyming relevance that Dan Reynolds performs quite well to his credit.
Now to dive into the percussion. I listened to this album twice, and the band seem to rely heavily on machine sounds. This is a disappointment, especially because their voluminous bass thumps were highlights. Once again, I say this as not a fan, but as someone who has studied their style of music. It is confusing to say at the least, why they are driving away from a sound they made their own so cinematically.
In Your Corner has some more synth layers exploding, with the percussion being formulaic. Not that I’m Bonham, but if I was sitting in with a band of this caliber, I would say they’re taking an easy way to formulate their songs. The band has had some incredible hits and well deserved success, but the sounds they choose are the ones available on Garage Band for this album. From a band that can produce a whole lot of energy with anthemic chants.
A funky number lasts in closing out this album, Gods Don’t Pray. It has some style, but also divides into these aspects that are predictable. Maybe predictable is good. It makes you feel like you’re a part of the music. For me personally, the album has been an underwhelming wet blanket moment, putting out a fire that they fueled for many years.
Now I love being called a hater, because it probably makes it true (?). What this band had once found as their guiding light is now reduced into a few good singles and fillers, something no band should do. They can set their own expectations, so probably aim a little higher. This is coming from someone who can’t play any music, yet I’ve heard enough of them to know what is lacklustre. Hopefully for them, a better album looms. All puns intended ™.
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