8. Imagine Dragons – ‘Smoke & Mirrors’

Hi Everyone!

And hello March!
This is blog number 8, and I’ve been listening to vvvvv THIS vvvvv album!

For those of you who are blind and being read this by someone else, said album is ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ by Imagine Dragons.

I saw this album in my local CD trading store and it immediately caught my eye. It looks like a terrified baby black bird being chased by a monk who’s been caught up in his own robes. Kinda like the film MouseTrap, but with a bird...and a monk.
But alas, the hands are actually freeing the bird. Gives it a completely different feeling, eh?
I only know that because I looked up what sort of bird it was, but it doesn’t say anywhere. But it does mention other strange things. Like for instance, the ‘webs’ under the hands – that’s actually a treasure map. And the alien writing in the top left corner is actually the date the album was released, but mirrored and flipped upside-down.

I also really like the font for Imagine Dragons – the ‘IMA’ all leaning into each other, and the E cutting the middle bar off, and the D missing it’s back, then the A leaning the opposite way to the previous, and the S. That’s a nice S!

It’s all very mix-match, and not at all standard – I wonder if that links to the music?

LET’S FIND OUT!!

*play Catchphrase theme tune*

Hello!
And welcome to ‘Don’t Judge An Album By Its Cover’!
I’m your annoying host, Sam Thurlow!
I think someone put something in my drink!
Today, we’re looking at an album by Imagine Dragons called ‘Smoke & Mirrors’!
Let’s do it!

(ok, stop reading over enthusiastically now – I’m back to being…well, normal I guess.)

The first song of the album is ‘Shots’.

At first impression, I thought it would be a clubbing song, about taking shots. But it’s actually about shooting everything he loves.

“I’m sorry for everything, oh, everything I’ve done. From the second that I was born it seems I had a loaded gun, and then I shot, shot, shot a hole through everything I loved”.

OR IS IT?!
If you too asked yourself that question (or simply wondered how I could be so wrong), then you’ve read my blogs before!
You see, I think it’s all a metaphor. I think he’s in a relationship which turns south, and he then drinks himself lonely. The problem I have with this idea is that the song sounds so happy!

It starts with some fast guitar chords and then the whole band sings “I’m sorry for everything, oh, everything I’ve done” and then drums and bass come in. Though the bass I think is actually a synth. It’s nowhere near as bassy as a bass should be, and shortly afterwards, it cuts out and a synth takes over…..spooky. (Or it was just a synth all along).
It’s got a nice jumpy vibe to the song – upbeat – happy chords – a very nice voice singing. It’s great!

But after a bit of research, I find that this song is really mainstream for them. I didn’t really get what that meant. Like, yeah it sounds quite mainstream…but it’s not the same as everything else.
“What do they normally sound like?” I asked myself. Well….track 2 gave me a bit of a shock!

That track is ‘Gold’.

I think my brain just farted a bit. The beginning starts with drums and is then joined with weird screams/hiccups, and then African drums come in, but then they die out quickly and are replaced with whistling, bass and cowbells. Then the vocals come in.

I can’t exaggerate this enough. His voice is like Gold. (Get it?! :D hahaha – ok, I definitely think someone put something in my drink…) But no, really, it gives me chills. He manages to have a really smooth, yet rough voice. Don’t ask me how – it’s the magic of the music industry.

“Statues and empires are all at your hands, water to win and the finest of sands. When all that you have’s turning stale and its cold. Oh you’ll no longer fear when your heart’s turned to gold.”

The lyrics sound like they’re talking about someone famous who makes anything they touch turn to gold. Like, not literally, but when everything they do sells – like Johnny Depp. He’s pretty much King Midas.

The song has a really nice hook, singing “Well, everything, everything, everything you touch turns to gold, gold, gold.” It also has some killer drum beats and overdriven bass – and of course the whistling. It’s quite a creepy whistle, but it fits beautifully.

Next up is the title track – ‘Smoke & Mirrors’.

This is back to the standard ‘mainstream’ stuff.

The song’s about faith and belief, and questioning if all you believe in is actually real, or if it’s just a trick on your mind or a dream. Smoke & mirrors refers to magicians, who famously use a lot of smoke and mirrors to conceal their magic and baffle the audience.
It’s accompanied by nice sounding guitar and a thumping drum, accompanied by vocals.

It’s great – it’s just trundling along, minding it’s own busi…..wait wtf is that? Ok – so the gorilla from the Cadbury’s advert just came bursting in with a drum solo, with drums were found on the street, and just played then and there. They even had a homeless man underneath – you can hear his scream throughout the drum solo.

“All I believe, is it a dream that comes crashing down on me? All that I hope. Is it just smoke and mirrors? I want to believe! But all that I hope, is it just smoke and mirrors?”

And as quickly as it ran in, the monkeys ran out again. (It’s ok, he comes back a bit later) – it just came as a bit of a shock. Listening to a nice calming song and then suddenly the worlds exploding.
It’s like sitting at home watching TV and then suddenly a wrecking ball comes through the wall and goes straight through Johnny Depps face.

The song breaks down towards the middle, just ambient noise and a bit of singing. It’s a nice little break which gives time to breathe and remember how good Johnny Depp was is Edward Scissorhands.
Then it slowly comes back in again with the chorus and repeats it until the end. But breaking for a guitar solo (too right! It’s a great solo, and all songs should have one!).

I see what people mean when they called ‘Shot’s’ very mainstream for the band. They’re anything but. It’s brill!

Next up – ‘I’m So Sorry’

OOooooo grungy blues!!

After listening for 45 seconds, this is automatically my favourite song on this album. And if this album has more songs like this, it’ll quickly become one of my regularly listened to albums. I might even burn a copy and put it in my car! I guess we’ll find out later!

“So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go, you’ll never be loved till you’ve made your own. You gotta face up, you gotta get yours, you never know the top till you get too low!”

It starts with a couple of guitars. 1 of them which is VERY dirty sounding. The drums then burst in, and it all quickly dies out and leaves the dirty guitar and bass drum playing, and then brilliant vocals join in! It’s all very country blues, and makes him sound like such a badass! It then picks up a bit and he starts shouting the lyrics! Shouting! It’s awesome!!

It reminds me a lot of ‘Beast’ by Nico Vega. Thumping drums, shouting vocals and strummed guitar.

But then suddenly, Coldplay take over…like, the old Coldplay, when they weren’t that great.
They literally take all the instruments out and put piano in. Of course, I’m joking, it’s not actually Coldplay. I Imagine it’s the Dragons.

They then just carry on with the previous music…..they literally just stopped in the middle of an awesome song, put in a celestial piano solo with calm vocals, and then went back to grungy guitar and screaming vocals. I know get what people mean – there’s mainstream music, and then about 17 miles down the road, this.
Well…I guess I’ll get on my bike!

Up next is ‘I Bet My Life’

Starting like Mumford & Sons – like, a lot like them.

But you fool me once, you won’t fool me twice. This song’s gonna do something weird at some point!

But for now, it’s great – very folky with urchins shouting in the background, bass drums, strummed guitar, the whole band shouting the chorus.

I actually think this is more normal than ‘Shots’ with the chart music we’ve had over the past years – this is just a year or 2 too late. But then I guess they would’ve been compared to Mumford & Sons…you just can’t win!

“Now remember when I told you that’s the last you’ll see of me. Remember when I broke you down to tears. I know I took the path that you would never want for me. I gave you hell through all the years. So, I, I bet my life, I bet my life, I bet my life on you.”

The song is about leaving the person who loves them to fulfil their dreams, even if it’s a path they didn’t want them to follow – although I’m not sure what that dream could be for someone to not want you to follow it?!

“Sorry my dear, I’m leaving to become an assassin. It’s always been a dream of mine!”

Like…yeah, ok. But that won’t happen!

But it’s not just about that, it’s also about how once they’re fulfilling their dreams, they were so busy they didn’t realise how much they hurt the one who loves them.

The morale of the story? Don’t become an assassin.

Track no.6 is ‘Polaroid’

This one has a weird beginning. Plucked string section, glockenspiel, nice vocals (that don’t really fit), heavy drums and what sounds like a submarine. It’s just a very strange mixture of sounds!

“All my life I’ve been living in the fast lane. Can’t slow down I’m a rollin’ freight train. One more time gotta start all over. Can’t slow down I’m a lone red rover.”

That line bothers me. You can’t be a ‘lone red rover’. For those of you who aren’t 12 – although I’d be very surprised if 12 year olds still play it, they’ve all got their iPhones and Facebook and Playstations and Justin Bieber. Bloody youths.
I swear, my offspring will know who The Who is, and will play with sticks and balls – they’ll also inherit all of my Lego…..well, some of it. Ok, none of it. But they can play with it sometimes….with my supervision………..ok, they can watch me play with it.

Anyway – getting back on track. Red Rover is a playground game which consists of 2 teams where all the kids are linking arms. One of the teams then calls out a name of one of the kids in the other team by singing “Red rover. Red rover. Send [name] over!” – that kid then has to run to the opposing team and try and break through the chain. If they succeed they can then chose which half of the chain goes and joins the other team. If they fail to break through, they have to join the team. It keeps going like that until 1 of the teams just has 1 person left.

I think the game was banned in loads of schools because it basically turned into full contact rugby and limbs got broken….but hey, it’s a playground. That’s where bones are supposed to get broken! I dislocated my arm and fractured my wrist on the playground. I’m also sure I broke my nose once…but I can’t remember.

ANYWAY – it’s not possible to play Red Rover with less than 5 people (which can be won in 1 go…so it’d be extremely boring) – But what I think they mean in the song, is if you’re playing Red Rover on your own, you’re just running towards the other team…but there is no other team. So you’re just running. I guess if you reach a couple who are holding hands, you could run between them to break the chain and that’d end the game….

So if you’re gonna play Red Rover on your own, do it in a public place so you can break a chain (and a couple of fingers) between 2 people holding hands. You’re welcome.

Next up is ‘Friction’.

Loving the start of this one! It’s very electronic-Indian music with a sitar and tabla sound.

Mixed with the vocals it becomes quite a powerful song – especially when the tabla comes in. (interesting fact – ‘tabla’ keeps getting autocorrected to ‘table’….so if I mention a table coming into the song…that’s why). It’s also then joined by an udu and a couple of other large noisy instruments.

“You can’t fight the friction, so ease it off. Can’t take the pressure, so ease it off. Don’t tell me to be strong, ease it off. You can’t fight the friction, so ease it off.”

I just realised, from that one line, this song could be taken in a very ‘ooo la la’ kinda way….

I think it’s actually about rising to the top. “Get out of the middle and rise to the top now” – but it’s also about fighting to get to the top, and dealing with any friction you may encounter.

Or it’s just about sex…

A load of Red Hot Chili Pepper songs sound like they’re about sex, but they’re not. Well, not all of them at least! ‘Give it Away’ has a typically RHCP line which goes “What I got gotta give it to your mama, what I got gotta give it to your papa. What I got gotta give it to your daughter.”

That line SOUNDS like it’s about sex, but it’s actually completely different!
“The lyrical meaning behind "Give It Away" is centered on the philosophy of selflessness and altruistic behavior.” – ‘Give It Away’ (Red Hot Chili Peppers song): Wikipedia

See…I bet you don’t feel so bad singing it out loud now!

But then other songs like ‘Suck My Kiss’….that’s about snogging. ‘Save the Population’…sex. ‘Pea’….funnily enough, it’s NOT about garden veg! (It’s actually about how Flea, the bassist in RHCP got beat up one day and was made to feel small.)

Next up – ’It Comes Back To You’.

It has a nice, almost ethereal sounding guitar to begin with, which is then joined by VERY ethereal organ and bass.
It then cuts back and goes to a clean guitar and the vocals come in.

“4am beside myself and what I think of mental health. All the things that worry me. All the things you don’t believe”

This song sounds really feel good and relaxing – the chords and playing is just right. Especially mixed with the great vocals. I can’t even think of another song this sounds like – maybe a bit like Owl City…but that’s only if I really search.

The song is a good length – 4 ½ minutes long. But it feels a lot shorter! I actually had to start it again, and when I did, I thought to myself “I bet this song’s less than 3 minutes long” (Yes, I like to make bets with myself. I always win. It’s great!)
But it then turned out to be considerably longer (doesn’t matter – I still won).

“It comes back to you, it comes back to you. All the things that you had lost will find their way to you.”

The song can get quite repetitive, but because it feels shorter than it is, it doesn’t really bother me. Unless that’s why it seems short – but in past experience, the more repetitive a song is, the longer it seems to go on for.

It’s a bit like this review.

It keeps going on and on.

And on.

And on.

Aaaannd next song – ‘Dream’

It’s Ludovico Einaudi again! – Not really. Just piano on its own, and that’s what I immediately think of when I hear a solo piano. Well…I say it isn’t…how would anyone know if it was or wasn’t Einaudi?

But then when he sings the chorus, he sounds a bit like Paolo Nutini in ‘Iron Sky’ – screaming, but it gives me chills.

“We all are living in a dream, but life ain’t what it seems. Oh, everything’s a mess, and all these sorrows I have seen. They lead me to believe that everything’s a mess. But I wanna dream, I wanna dream. Leave me to dream.”

This is yet another stand out song – it doesn’t go with the rest of the album at all. It’s piano, violins, cellos – just a full orchestra and choir. In fact, it sounds a lot like Iron Sky by Paolo Nutini. The whole vibe of the 2 songs matches up really well! Although Iron Sky is a lot rockier, and it starts with the shouting a bit sooner.

I really enjoy the vibe of ‘Dream’ – even though it’s a lot like Iron Sky, it’s got a different feel. Can’t quite explain it. I guess it feels less like it’s sending a message and more just a nice sounding song – because Iron Sky definitely sounds like a ‘power to the people’ song. Even if it isn’t.

I think this song is about being ignorant – wanting to see everything as you want to, and dreaming that you can do anything – but then being shown that you can’t. But all you want to do is dream. I can relate – although all I want to do is sleep. If I happen to dream, that’s just a happy occurrence!

‘Trouble’ is in at number 10!

I’ve heard this song before. No idea when – unless this song sounds just like a different song that I’ve heard before…

“So pray for me brother, I need redemption, I’m just a man, a man on a mission. I want no trouble.”

This is another one which is a bit Mumford & Sons – not anywhere as much as ‘I Bet My Life’, and I’m not even sure if it’s M&S I’m thinking of! (That’s me trying to be cool and abbreviate Mumford & Sons…but all I can think of when I see that is Marks & Spencer…they do such a nice superfood salad! Nutty, fruity, and extremely healthy! Just add some sweet chilli sauce and it’s unbelievably nice!

M&S, if you see this, I need a sponsor – so if you can supply me with a life-time supply of wholefood salads, cookies and your amazing popcorn (preferably the popcorn covered in white chocolate and strawberry bits) then I will give you a shout out in every review!

And M&S, if you see this, I am available to tour with you. Get in touch! ;)

After thinking about it – I don’t think it’s Mumford & Sons that I’m thinking of. No idea. I’ve lost my mojo. I know this song…but I don’t know if I know the SONG, or if it sounds like another song I know.

“I took a photograph of me when I was only nineteen. I looked a little lost at sea, I keep trying to find me”

As for the song (which I should probably talk about), it’s got marching drums and strumming guitars and folky vocals – which I don’t know if it’s 1 voice throughout or 2 voices. Because if it’s just 1 he has a hell of a vocal range! Going from high to low instantly. I know it’s easier to record that in the studio because you can cut in and place sections. But if he sung it live, that would put a huge strain on his voice!

But he’s famous – and famous people don’t seem to ever lose their voices. Actors in plays and singers can be performing every day for a month, and their voice shows no wear.
I can just imagine the dressing rooms have a corner stacked up with Lemsips and Soothers.

‘Summer’ is next.

“Paint me all your pictures. Hang them on my wall. Show me all your colours, show me all.”

I love how this one starts – no messing around, just BAM – in!
It’s got a lovely bass line and guitar riff which work together brilliantly and are brought together with the drums coming through.

There’s a flute or whistle of some kind happening in the background behind the vocals, as well as some ghouls flying around going “oooOOOoooooOooo”, and that’s then replaced by a whistling Theremin in places.

I’m also really impressed with how high he sings in this song – unless it’s autotuned higher…in which case I take that back.
It’s a big thing that people think all big artists can’t actually sing so autotune everything. Which isn’t true. Well…part of it is.
They can sing, but use autotune to make it flawless because no-ones perfect. Everyone I’ve made albums with have been autotuned a little bit just because they go flat on 1 or 2 words. It’s also used as an instrument – like Cher. She could sing, but used autotune to make her voice sound more robotic. Although, truth be known, she probably sung sharp or flat a couple of times and the producer over autotuned it, but she then liked it and asked them to make the whole track like that. That’s my theory at least!

Almost done!
Next up is ‘Hopeless Opus’.

To start with, I was listening to this album on Youtube because I wanted to make sure I liked it before buying it – I did, so I just bought it. And interestingly, I found out it has 21 tracks! That’s 8 more than I thought it had!

Therefore, I’m only going up to track 13 (which is next) because that’s when Wikipedia says it ends, and as we all know, Wikipedia is 100%, no matter of doubt, hand on heart, swear on the life of my imaginary hamster – completely factual – and is definitely not a public record that anyone can adjust if they feel like it. For those who didn’t know that, and believed that Robbie Williams actually ate pet hamsters – he doesn’t. Someone made it up.

Back to the song – it’s got a great start, the flute’s come out again and this time has been joined by a child shouting “LASER”….or at least that’s what it sounds like!

It sounds a bit like a nursery rhyme mixed with a playground song – just the way the lyrics are sung and the tune the flute plays is very predictable and simple…and happy!

“I’ve got this place that I’ve filled with empty space. Oh I’m trying not to face what I’ve done. My hopeless opus.”

Now, me saying it sounds ‘like a nursery rhyme mixed with a playground song’ doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s good! It’s great!
It’s really catchy and I keep whistling it when I have a break from listening to the songs.

For those of you who are reading this and wonder how long it takes to write all of this – I usually do it in 1 or 2 days. I listen to the album all week, and then sit down one day, listen to the album (normally putting the song I’m writing about on repeat) and write some – with this one I wrote up to the beginning of this song, and then left it for a few hours and came back to it the same day!
This is a particularly long one though. So I’m gonna get it finished asap!

Which means moving on!

Lastly – ‘The Fall’!

It starts really weirdly – lots of wind instruments (and possibly steel drums!) which create a very ‘Enchanted Forest’ feel. But it eventually cuts and leaves drums, vocals and what sounds like….possibly…Oh I think so!

Bongos! :D

Ok, 5*, A+, top marks.

That’ll do for this blog! They have bongos on a song, that’s all I wanted. I’m happy now.

As well as bongos, they have this song down to a tee – it’s really good! AND LONG – 6:03mins to be precise.

It seems like a lot of that is really ambient noise and beautiful tones. It’s really nice when a heavy song with a lot of instrumentation and drums just dies down into whispers. It gives it a real dynamic and makes it sound like 3 separate songs which have a common similarity in chord progression and timing.

“Maybe I’m broken, maybe I’m wrong. I could’ve spoken sooner that I should have. Only the good die old, that’s what they told me. But I don’t know.”

As for a ‘final’ track (aka 13 out of 21), it really ties up the album – It’s not the most upbeat song, or the most technically intricate – but it has really great feeling and leaves me wanting more!

So I’m gonna go listen to tracks 14 through 21. But I’m not going to review them – just think of them as hidden tracks!
You’ll have to buy the album to hear them!

Over all, this is a great album!
There’s a couple of songs which I just didn’t click with, but the majority I loved listening to!

I’ll definitely be adding this to my iPod – and will be on the lookout for their other albums!

Do you agree/disagree with anything I said? Like / dislike the review? Any constructive criticisms? Please leave a comment below! Would love to hear from you. Also, if you have any recommendations of albums I should listen to and review (as long as the artwork is awesome), let me know.

Thanks for reading, keep tuned for the next blog.

I will be reviewing ‘Commontime’ by Field Music

Don’t forget to check out my website, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube below.

I’m doing these blogs alongside my better half; Fern Teather – she is listening to a new albums (doesn’t matter about the artwork, she’s trying to expand her musical knowledge and listen to new artists!). She’s also keeping a blog, and it’s nowhere near as long as this one, so go give it a read!!
Check it out here: 52-albums.blogspot.com

Chow for now!

Sam

www.bongoboy.co.uk
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