Imagine Dragons: Evolve

Imagine+Dragons%3A+Evolve

Lauren Winn

Imagine Dragons, an American rock band from Las Vegas, released their third album, Evolve, in late June of 2017. The album followed up their second successful album, Smoke + Mirrors. Evolve features pop rock tracks with some R&B.

The album kicks off with “I Don’t Know Why,” which is one of the only songs from this band that has a pop rhythm. The song was co-written by Justin Tranter, a recently successful songwriter who has been writing for other popular artists, so the lyrics are more generic. The track hints at the story of two lovers who trust each other, but don’t tell friends about the relationship. The song isn’t deep like many of their songs often are, which is probably the result of Tranter co-writing it. The song’s chorus has a catchy beat that is easy to jam out to, and this song is probably one of my favorite tracks on the album

“Whatever It Takes” follows as the second song on Evolve. At first, you’d probably think a song with this title would be a love song, but it’s more of an ode to Imagine Dragons’ ambition to succeed, and determination to never stop until they get there. The song mentions how people are expecting them to fail, and the narrator of the song is willing to do whatever it takes to get there and rise above everyone else who has the same goal. The pre-chorus references using pain to become stronger and overcoming it, much like another track on the album, “Believer.” The song isn’t necessarily about the accomplishment, but the thrill of being pushed past your own limits to get to the accomplishment. I would give this song a 9/10 for its upbeat message and instrumentals.

“Yesterday” is another one of my favorites on Evolve. It’s a song that has lyrics that are easy to remember, so you can sing along the first or second time you hear the song. Like other songs off the album, it seems to be about becoming stronger from your past to face the next obstacle that comes your way. The song opens with the chorus, saying that there’s “no tomorrow without a yesterday” and you must learn from your past to move on in the future. The future is undetermined, and we have the freewill to make do with it what we like. “Yesterday” was a great song to get involved in at the concert I went to in early November 2017, which made me favor this song more than I originally did at the time of the album release.

Overall, I really enjoyed Evolve because most of it connects to the backstory of the band and how they overcame obstacles during their lives. This band has been around since 2011, and I’ve loved every song they’ve released since then, and their Evolve album definitely did not disappoint. I would recommend this album because it has a mix of genres and beats, and I can’t wait for the fourth album from Imagine Dragons.