Oh boy...Here we go.
I thought Mercury Act 1 was actually a step back in the right direction for a band I have not found enjoyment of since Night Visions, but the singles thus far had been utterly dreadful to me for the most part. Unlistenable at the very worst. I was not excited in the slightest to see the full Act 2, but I am here with an open mind.
We get 18 new tracks, and I am sure they will be of varying quality.
The album begins with "Bones", and honestly it wasn't the worst thing in the world until that annoying mismatched chorus hits. It actually does not even LYRICALLY MATCH THE SONG.
My god if I wanted some sort of knock off Andy Grammar/Jason Mraz child, both artists I cannot stand, I would probably go listen to the real versions instead of this bad knock off in the form of Symphony.
Sharks is not redeeming this much. The beat seems just annoying.
Wow. The compelling lyricism. The truest artistic expression. "I Don't Like Myself" sounds like I am reading a 13 year olds diary and has about as much compelling expression. Actually, you know what, this is insulting 13 year olds. I wrote better than this at 13. Come on dude.
"Blur" now sounds about as good as anything you can find on a Machine Gun Kelly album. I am feeling very done with this.
It is bad when you're running out of poor ideas for the lyricism for the album that "Higher Ground" sounds like a mash of 2 songs I already listened to...
Oh my god, do I...hear a good song? Compelling lyricism? Emotional delivery? It is moments like this that I am so hard on Imagine Dragons. By god, they have it in them to be a GOOD band but instead they keep making music like they're chasing another car ad on television. I am sick of it. STOP WASTING YOUR POTENTIAL!
"Take It Easy" now sends me back to remembering why they irritate me...I can't decide anymore if I am supposed to take this album seriously.
This song is almost good. "Waves" is almost a good song. And you added whatever dumb chorus that is, kind of like Bones. This is getting annoying. We need new songwriters for the band.
Okay I am starting to think he ran out of ideas and really wrote whatever stream of consciousness B-sides he could come up with. These lyrics are just poor at best. "I'm Happy" doesn't even know what kind of song it wants to be. It seems an entire theme of this release. No idea what they want to be.
Goddammit Dan Reynolds you could've made an album of Crushed and now Ferris Wheel but instead you made whatever the hell most of this is. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME, SHOW ME A SHRED OF POTENTIAL BEFORE TORTURING ME BY PUTTING IT INTO THE PAPER SHREDDER? Do you HATE me?
This album is beginning to feel exceptionally too long. It could easily be cut down. If you take the best parts of Act 1 and the highs of Act 2 you could actually get ONE GOOD ALBUM! But no, can't do that. This is my cue to pun that I can relate to not being able to get any "Peace of Mind" when it comes to whether or not Imagine Dragons is a good band.
"Sirens" is another solid track. Well written lyrics, the chorus isn't disjointed, and the melody fits. I really wish there was more of this.
"Tied" is driving me nuts because it sounds almost JUST LIKE SOME OTHER SONG AND I CANNOT THINK OF WHAT IT IS.
"Younger" is not quite my thing, but it is actually more tolerable. The end of the album is getting stronger than the majority of it...
"I Wish" seems to reference likely the suicide of someone close to him that occurred during the off time, and it really captures the grief and guilt you can feel when someone dies.
"Continual" is very simplistic, but doesn't grab me really...
The album closes with "They Don't Know You Like I Do", and I am not sure who the song is dedicated for or where it totally fits within the album. But the album doesn't really linear story wise make much sense.
Lyrics: 5/10 - There's some stellar writing here. Somehow in the same album is some of the worst songwriting I have heard in a while lyrically. I just don't get how you can write "Ferris Wheel" and write "I Don't Like Myself" and put them on the same album. Are they trying to be polarizing?
Music: 4/10 A lot of the music beyond the first few tracks is pretty similar in styling. I prefer the latter half of the album though. I think the first part with Bones and such is actually overdone.
Overall: 4/10 - I wouldn't pick this up. It is worse than Act 1. I am still disappointed. Dan Reynolds, you always lift my expectations a small degree before throwing me back down. Why do you do this? I know you can do better. We all do.
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