Imagine Dragons
Night Visions

Another of my occasional excursions outside of prog to talk about the debut album of a band that has recently enjoyed considerable success, Imagine Dragons. I usually have a somewhat skeptical approach towards bands that enjoy high radio play, given that I know well how people relate to music and how the media present music to people, often giving space to poor-quality things while overshadowing far more deserving ones; it essentially ranges from simply decent to total trash, rarely does it really go high... But why not give that decent music that's out there a chance? Without expecting masterpieces, of course, but why not? When "Demons" was making the rounds, it clearly seemed like yet another simple chart song—not garbage like some other stuff around, but not anything remarkable either; and from there, I already imagined I was facing yet another of those passable chart bands. Following a friend who had it in heavy rotation, I eventually decided to listen to the album.

“Night Visions” is actually practically a half-compilation, as most of the tracks appeared in various previously released EPs. As a starting point, I can simply begin with a simple premise: it’s a good album but absolutely not a masterpiece. I'm not saying this due to a matter of taste, but simply because one needs to be objective. Many judge music based simply on whether it is more or less pleasant to listen to, or whether it is more or less danceable or singable, while some defend the artist because "they sold millions of records"; I find this attitude (and I say this without mincing words) rather immature and even childish, though very common. Music is an interplay of lines, textures, forms, structures; it is a 360-degree art form, and in art, form matters, and it's precisely in forms that it should be evaluated; one must analyze the approach, the work of the instruments, the structure of the pieces, the function each piece has within an album, the evolution of a band, the production, etc... It's too easy to just say "I like it" - "I don't like it," talking about music isn't for everyone… In the end, one likes what they like, but you have to try to admit what is better or worse beyond personal tastes. One might like Justin Bieber more, but that does not make him better than Mozart, who objectively wins.

“Night Visions” is essentially an album oriented towards pop-rock and especially indie-rock soundscapes, which are quite in vogue nowadays; therefore, one should not expect something seriously innovative or revolutionary. What makes the album appreciable is essentially the good variety offered; there isn't one song like another, and it willingly hosts electronic, folk, pop, and orchestral arrangements within it. However, you must be honest and admit that it has a major flaw, the production: it turns out to be not particularly brilliant, often tending to linger too much on vocals and rhythm while overshadowing many interesting arrangements; even in tracks where the arrangements are better valued, it still tends to sound a bit slurred, not quite clear. The fact is that some tracks turn out more successful than others, even though they are still enjoyable to listen to.

But let's focus on the more successful ones... I immediately mention “Amsterdam” and “Hear Me” where the guitars are especially highlighted; the former is very close to Coldplay (the rhythm is about similar to "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall"), while the latter quite faithfully follows The Killers' style (even in the vocal parts). “Tiptoe” is also very good, with its guitar touches, electronic sounds, and a very present bassline. A nice mandolin accompanies the verses of “It's Time”, the concluding “Nothing Left to Say” flaunts orchestral elements combined with a sunny and powerful melody and contains an acoustic coda indicated as a ghost track. “Underdog”, however, is a real modern electro-pop gem, with brilliant, not particularly elaborate synth passages that are well highlighted; one of the highest points of the album, it sounds modern and essential without falling into banality.

Alongside these tracks are others certainly very enjoyable, containing interesting cues but objectively too penalized by the production. “Radioactive” for instance has interesting dubstep-style riffs... but why not highlight them? Why suffocate them under tons of scraping percussion? “Demons” is okay in the verses, with delicate notes, but then even there in the chorus, everything is drowned by rhythm and voice. “Every Night” is a good power ballad but the guitar parts could be highlighted, thus making the track less flat. The track that seems most penalized by the production choices, though not the worst produced, appears to be “On Top of the World”: it is an interesting track if we really listen to it, it is an original pop-folk with interesting intertwining of string instruments, percussion, and handclapping, but all these sounds are decidedly little audible... would all this perhaps annoy the random listener who turns on the radio in the car???

This listening experience, which I still consider pleasant, further clarified my ideas (though I already had rather clear ideas) on what the mentality that reigns in the mainstream realm is: to be great, it doesn't matter that your music is well played and well-crafted and that it has ideas, you just need to break the stereo speakers (the famous hit "Pump Up the Speakers" is there to prove it), make people dance and sing, whereas the musical content doesn't matter at all, if anything, it's better if it's obscured. This ends up both penalizing certain artists (obscuring their creativity) and giving people a wrong view of what music should be; it's no surprise then that young people, as soon as they hear a track where the instrumental work is brought out - not necessarily something particularly difficult, even stuff like Mark Knopfler's guitar in Dire Straits - they are baffled, going so far as to say “but what is this stuff?”

Anyway, going back to the album, it must be said that production isn't everything (then in that case we shouldn't listen to the first Dream Theater album); in the end, the ideas are there, so the feedback is rather positive, and these tracks, with not-so-clear sound, still have their say. In the end, when you play the record, you ignore all the criticisms one might make and let yourself be carried away (and I am indeed the first to finally take things as they are, and thus commit to accepting them). However, there is a miss: it's “Bleeding Out.” That truly is a completely empty track, two sparse sounds thrown there haphazardly and a beat pounding away full blast as is so fashionable, it could easily be a Rihanna song, and we wouldn't even notice, it really gives the impression of being the classic sellout song created to satisfy major labels and radio.

In conclusion, I might rate the album a good 6.5; the level isn't very high, but if it had a more convincing production, it might even score a few more points. But in the meantime, I've listened to it incessantly for about a month, and I liked the formula proposed, I consider it a good starting point. I await the new album with quite some interest and also with a good deal of confidence, hoping for once again interesting ideas and, if possible, an even better sound.