Moroni's Review of Imagine Dragons' "Night Visions"

One of the great things about my relationship with my oldest daughter Sophie and me is music.

I never really had music in common with my dad.  He couldn't really understand the '80s alternative music that I listened to as a kid.  He was into old time country, Mexican rancheras, and '50s rock and roll.  It wasn't until I was an adult that we shared some musical tastes.  For instance, I was into bluegrass, and we both enjoyed the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou".

I don't know what I am.  I guess I am one of those "cool dads" who likes new music.  Maybe?  But Sophie and I are always introducing music to each other.  She is now in college and recently posted a link to Imagine Dragons to me.  So I downloaded the first album from this Las Vegas quartet - "Night Visions".

I'm going to be honest.  After my first listen, I really didn't like it that much.  Even after several listens, I have to admit that it is not too terribly original.  This is the kind of generic music that record studios pump out that is "marketable" and designed to get radio airplay.

But after listening to it, it is kind of starting to grow on me.  There are still some songs that annoy me.  But the album is kind of catchy.  This album is not going to win any Grammy's. but it is good  music to tap your finger to for a while.

The album starts out with "Radioactive", which is a haunting melody.  But then they have to throw that wobble bass in there.  I understand that the masses still like dubstep.  But this is a rock band.  I am wondering which engineer or radio executive decided to make this a dubstep song instead of a straight up rock song.

The next song - "Tiptoe" - is equally catchy.  But I disliked the Casio keyboard sound in the '80s, and I dislike it equally in 2012.  "It's Time" and "Every Night" are ballads, and they don't do much for me.  "On Top of the World" and "Underdog" are so annoying that I almost never want to listen to this album ever again - just because of these songs.  However, the album is redeemed by my favorite songs - "Amsterdam", "Hear Me", "Bleeding Out", and "Nothing Left to Say".

It is hard to listen to this album without hearing its obvious influences - the Killers, Neon Trees, Vertical Horizon, Coldplay - and I even heard a little Gene Loves Jezebel in there.

All in all, a decent album.  But I don't think I will be holding my breath for their sophomore effort.