Album Review: Night Visions

As anyone following this blog may have noticed, in the last couple of months there's been a new band on the block which have been occupying my eardrums for a significant amount of time. For those of you who are new to this blog, or perhaps haven't visited for a while, that band is Imagine Dragons. This incredible indie-pop band absolutely blew my mind with their EP, Continued Silence (check out my review of it here), which introduced me to their awesome music and left me wanting more (6 songs is not enough!!!!).
And a few days ago, I finally got my hands on a copy of their debut album, Night Visions, ordered all the way from the USA (cos New Zealand is laaaaaaame when it comes to selling music not made by the "big names").

This me in class with the album. I guess I look a bit shocked, but it's actually supposed to be excitement or something like that. Because, not going to lie, this has probably been the most excited I've ever been about an album release EVER. I was actually buzzing on the day it got released (5th of September was the official date I think),  but I had to force myself to resist the urge to listen to the tracks online as I waited for my copy to arrive. So when it turned up in the post it was all new and exciting for me (with the exception of one track, Tiptoe. My patience couldn't handle listening to nothing).
First of all I should point out that this album does draw on a lot of the material found in Continued Silence, with 4 of the first 5 songs from their EP. I guess that can't be helped what with it's release coming only months after, but it did make listening to this album pretty hard to listen to as a whole as it seemed to me to be more like a collection of songs mixed in with the tracks of their EP. But this might have just been because I was listening to the new songs more, as I'd already thrashed the 'older' ones.

My first reaction to Night Visions was of slight disappointment. Maybe it was because I'd hyped it up to much, or because the EP was so good, but on the first listen, something didn't seem quite right. Gone was the indie instrumentation and good-time vibes, replaced by some uber-slick production and soaring vocal hooks. Once again, Imagine Dragons completely surprised me by bringing in a completely different element into the mix. Except this time I was a little unprepared for it and it took me a while to adjust to this new, poppy-er sound. But now that I've had a few more listens the album has grown on me, and I've found that if it's not completely, then it's pretty close to being worth all the hype I gave it.

No doubt though, this is a much more pop-orientated album than Continued Silence. Imagine Dragons lean a la Coldplay on several of the tracks, with synth based arena rock seasoned with huge beats coming to the foreground on this, rather than hiding away in the indie tracks somewhere. Of the tracks on the album, there was only two which stood out on the first listen. "Underdog" is one of those infectious tunes that you can't help smiling to whenever it comes on. With a chirpy modulated synth opening and a uplifting chorus where Dan Reynolds unashamedly drops pop hooks with just the faintest hint of irony"Hey, that sounds like my luck, I get the short end of it, Oh I love to be the underdog", this is a stand out moment on the album. The next one to grab my attention was the track directly after, "Nothing Left To Say/Rocks". Sitting at just under 9 minutes, this is really the surprise of the album as it is actually two complete songs merged together into a single track. "Nothing Left To Say" is a driving slow-burner with an incredibly soulful outro which features the viola skills of drummer Daniel Platzman. The words for this song are some of the most well-crafted on this album too - the line "Who knows what's right? The lines keep getting thinner" gets me every time. Then just as you're getting into the viola & acoustic breakdown, it suddenly stops. About five seconds of silence pass, and then "Rocks" kicks in. It's a really interesting choice to merge them together in this way, because in many ways "Rocks" completely different from "Nothing Left To Say" with it's upbeat tempo, nonsensical lyrics and instant catchiness - but somehow it works.

The rest of the album carries within the same vein. The previously mentioned "Tiptoe", stuck as unfortunately as it is between "Radioactive" and "It's Time" is another stand out track with a catchy chorus about heading to the top - much in the vein of "It's Time" lyrically I suppose. "Amsterdam" starts of with an excellent piano opening but somehow never delivers as much as it could. "Hear Me" is probably my least favorite track on the album - despite soaring chorus vocals and a few tasty guitar licks, it's over-saturated pop sound makes it seem almost as if Imagine Dragons are trying too hard. This is followed by yet another surprise - the barbershop styled intro to "Every Night" which somehow reminded me of Fun's song "Some Nights" when I first heard it. Only the difference is Imagine Dragons don't use autotune and the song gets even better after the opening. In fact it could possibly be my favorite song from the album - with an incredible vocal performance, a sweet hook line ("I'm coming home to you every night") and a well-placed guitar solo from Wayne Sermon, "Every Night" is another highlight on an already incredible album.

Despite the more pop-orientated sound, it's safe to say that this album is already sitting in my collection of favorite CD's. I was talking to a friend the other day about music and we both agreed that you know you've found a great band when you like pretty much every song on their album. In today's world where you're lucky to find 4 good songs and then a pile of album filler, it's refreshing to find a band like Imagine Dragons who hard work and struggles finally pay off in this incredible debut. If you've never heard of them, it's time you bought this album and got yourself acquainted.


Album Rating: 4.5/5
Lyrical content: 3/5
Additional comments: Go buy it now!