Whether you’re a fan of their genre of music or not, everyone likes at least one song by Imagine Dragons. It could be “It’s Time,” “Radioactive,” or “Tiptoe,” but when Imagine Dragons released its first album Night Visions, it became one of the biggest selling albums of 2013. With a response like that, the pressure was definitely on for the band to make a follow-up album just as awesome as the first. And in my opinion, they succeeded.

Their new album, Smoke +Mirrors, is astounding, with strong melody writing and captivating lyrics. My favorite song from the album right now is “I Bet My Life.” This album will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions. Smoke + Mirrors has a whole range of musical styles that anyone can appreciate including mellow melodies, guitars filtered with alternative-rock, powerful bass or beats, and floor drums.

It’s hard for me decide if this album is an improvement over the last because the sound is different. With saying that, a lot of reviews comment on how it doesn’t sound anything like their first album and they want the old Imagine Dragons back. But here’s my question for you if you think like that: Iif a band stuck with the same old sound for every album, wouldn’t it get rather boring? I mean they only have one other album, so it’s perfectly reasonable if a band wants to change up their sound and try something different. Dan Reynolds, lead vocalist, said while making this album, “We embraced a lot of hip-hop influences with Night Visions, but I think the next record will be more rock-driven.”

The rest of the reviews have all been really positive, some calling it a “modern pop-rock gem.” I recommend this album for anyone; even if you’re not a huge rock fan, Smoke + Mirrors will be sure to rock your mind. (Wow, I ended the article with a really bad pun, good job me!)