Imagine Dragons, Eyes Closed | Song Review 🎵

Grammy-winning alternative rock band Imagine Dragons sounds refreshing in their ear-catching, energetic single, “Eyes Closed.”

“Icould do this with my eyes closed.” Those lyrics commence Imagine Dragons’ “Eyes Closed” with gimmicky, pitch-shifted vocals. The tone is set early.  Furthermore, so is the key – minor, baby! The alternative band has plenty of cooks in the kitchen from a writing perspective: Ben McKee, Dan Reynolds, Mattias Larsson, Robin Lennart Fredriksson, and Wayne Sermon.  The production, slick with plenty of playful touches – synths, sound effects, and such – is handled superbly by Mattman & Robin (Larsson and Fredriksson).

Besides the gimmickry and unique sound, Frontman Dan Reynolds brings it vocally. The lyrics are dark and dramatic. Case in point: “The wrath and the gift from the pit of despair / Been takin’ every whip and every word, I’ve never been spared,” which concludes the first verse. The second verse is penned similarly with Reynolds singing, “Less medications, less manifestations / Mantras, meditation, throw it away…” Woo! The melodic lines are rhythmic, which is on-brand for the collective.  The heaviest moments arrive in the chorus:

“Lock me up in a maze

Turn out, turn out the lights

I was born, I was raised for this…”

Word! In the post-chorus, Reynolds utters the opening lyric once more: “I could do this with my eyes closed.”  Meanwhile, the bridge is kinder, and gentler,  separating itself from everything else:

“And when the day broke, buried in violence

Somethin’ made my mind up

I will spend these days as an island

Alone and far away.”

All said and done, “Eyes Closed” is true to Imagine Dragons in many ways. Still, it also marks a change of pace that makes this veteran, Grammy-winning band sound fresh and reinvigorated.

Imagine Dragons // “Eyes Closed” // KIDinaKORNER / Interscope // 4.3.24

[📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; KIDinaKORNER / Interscope; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Królestwo Nauki, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pete Linforth, Tumisu from Pixabay]