Imagine Dragons' Origins

I love Imagine Dragons.  That is no secret.  In fact, I posted a couple months ago about their concert I attended.  I was hooked on their music with "It's Time" and especially with "Demons," a song that may always be my favorite of their musical poetry.  Throughout all three of their earlier albums, Night Visions, Smoke and Mirrors, and especially Evolve, my respect for these guys grew.  It grew each time I saw Dan Reynolds promote issues he feels so strongly about.

Needless to say, I have been eagerly anticipating the release of Origins.  I talked my husband into ordering the pre-release (with three bonus tracks) for me for an early Christmas present.  It came in the mail today, but I did not wait until the CD arrived to listen.  Yesterday evening after work and activities with my sons, we pulled up Origins on YouTube and listened to each of the fifteen songs.  I'll admit, at first, I was not that impressed.  The album has a much bigger pop feel than the band's previous releases.  I have never been a fan of pop music.  However, even with the first listen, some songs jumped out at me.  By the second listen, I was captivated by songs such as "Machine," the mandolin-driven "West Coast," and the creepily catchy "Bullet in a Gun."

Dan Reynolds has discussed in recent interviews that Imagine Dragons' early songs were really metaphorical.  (For instance, "Radioactive" is not really about an apocalypse but refers to the singer's battle with depression).  I have always loved that symbolism in Imagine Dragons' music.  "Believer" from Evolve epitomized that symbolism, especially in the music video's portrayal of the artist's fight between his present self and his future self - a fight that began in childhood.  Origins, it is said, no longer includes the metaphors.  It is an in-your-face project that includes heartbreak (no doubt from Reynolds' recent divorce), anger about the way things are (there are those who have a natural beating heart of stone), and refusal to follow the norm (the group is not a part of a machine, according to "Machine," and is certainly no sellout according to "Bullet in a Gun").  I do miss the metaphors, but even minus such symbolism, the band's songs retain their poetic feel.

If Night Visions and Smoke and Smoke and Mirrors are metaphors for internal darkness, for guilt, for pain and struggle and Evolve is the group's coming to terms with such emotions, Origins is the anger for such struggles.  It is the rebellion.  The album's eclectic mix is an "I am what I am" jam.  After all, as "Digital" proclaims, Imagine Dragons wants a world without the order.  They don't want to change.  They just want to change everything.