New album "Loom"

Imagine Dragons: Salvation near the zero meridian

The regular line-up is actually a quartet: the Imagine Dragons around frontman Dan Reynolds (center).

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Interscope, Universal Music,)

After a lavish double concept album with his band Imagine Dragons and a bitter divorce from his wife, frontman Dan Reynolds first had to find himself again. The sixth Dragons studio album "Loom" sounds as indecisive and vague as his life. It will not detract from the mass success.

Exhibiting oneself as a musician or artist requires a hefty dose of narcissism per se. Some have more, some less, others have a whole truckload of it, which paradoxically often correlates with constant insecurity. Dan Reynolds, full-time frontman of the increasingly successful Imagine Dragons and part-time public soul-searcher, belongs to this not-so-rare breed of people who, unfortunately, struggle with serious psychological problems but are only too happy to bring every detail of their lives - whether visible or invisible - into the public eye. People usually react to this in two ways. Some cling to their hero's lips, act as concert ticket and Spotify song buyers like a mental band-aid and wish for relief from a global distance. Others, on the other hand, wish for the winding and mysterious pre-internet times to return, when not every marital quarrel was made widely available to the public as an Instagram story.

On the modern pop throne
Reynolds' personal state of mind could, of course, be left uncommented on were it not parallel to his art. The Imagine Dragons, who last played to around 40,000 fans in Vienna's Happel Stadium almost exactly two years ago, have risen to become one of the biggest pop bands in the world in recent years. According to current figures, the collective from Las Vegas has sold around 74 million records and has more than 160 billion streaming hits on Spotify. The four main singles "Radioactive", "Believer", "Thunder" and "Demons" have won a total of 52 platinum awards, not to mention the packed arenas and stadiums between Dallas and New Delhi. During the pandemic, they put together the double album "Mercury" (i.e. "Act 1" and "Act 2") with star producer Rick Rubin and finally became Coldplay for a younger generation. There are plenty of parallels to be discovered.

As their careers progressed, both bands became increasingly popular musically, but more successful in the mainstream. The frontmen Reynolds and Chris Martin from Coldplay are more or less happy to put themselves, their worries and marital crises on display. Both bands do an immense amount for charitable and social institutions, but their omnipresence on such stages also makes them seem rather pretentious and ingratiating (ask Bono). And finally, both acts have long since left the earthly cosmos musically. While Coldplay have discovered the versatility of the moon, including extraterrestrial interest generation, Imagine Dragons are trying their hand at the sun on their brand new sixth studio album "Loom". Whether it rises or sets on the cover artwork, which can be interpreted in many different ways, is just as difficult to answer as the distance between the two people on it.

Family crisis as a common thread
"Is it the beginning of something new, or the end of something else? Whenever I see sunrises and sunsets, I feel this 'either/or' feeling," Reynolds told American media in one of his now rare interviews. He suffered his private sunset just three months after his tour stop in Vienna in 2022. His wife Aja Volkman and he separated for good, and in March 2024 the divorce was finalized, which was already just around the corner in 2018. It was at this time that Reynolds transformed from a shy indie singer to an overcompensating muscleman who didn't want to keep his family problems or his Mormon attitude to himself. Accordingly, there is no hiding the marital crisis on "Loom". While the sunny "Nice To Meet You" is reminiscent of departure and a new beginning, Reynolds digs deep into the personal rift between family and the limelight on "In Your Corner" and "Don't Forget Me" with the meaningful lyric line "guess how got lost in the light".

The indecision hinted at in the artwork also runs through the songs. The opener "Wake Up" goes straight ahead with hip-hop references, while the summery "Take Me To The Beach" is a summery dancehall-pop number. In "Kid", which is strongly reminiscent of the Gorillaz, Reynolds gives himself the tip to get the confused things in life back in order. Instead of Rubin, Imagine Dragons once again relied on the already established Swedish producer duo Mattman & Robin for "Loom", which gives the album more air and lightness, which the lyrics often lack due to Reynolds' rollercoaster rides. The preparatory work has been left out of the equation in order to get down to work with as little fuss as possible. The single "Eyes Closed", for example, sounds so much like a stencil of their own past that they should actually be paying themselves royalties in the verse.

In the mediocre zero meridian
As has often been the case in music history, Imagine Dragons are now trying to conjure up minimalism again after a lavish concept double album. Without the bonus track with dancehall star J Balvin, "Loom" crosses the finish line in less than half an hour and cites everything that has made the band one of the biggest in the world over the last twelve years. What falls by the wayside are moments of excitement, the courage to change or the incentive to free oneself from the cocoon of the eternal repetition of content despite all the inner hardships. After the huge tour in North America, which lasted from the end of August until well into October, we can expect to see the band again in 2025. Reynolds will once again be preaching, including and dancing in confetti snow to heal the spirit. We wish the man a speedy recovery, then perhaps the music will also leave the mediocre zero meridian again.