Imagine Dragons, Wrecked | Track Review 🎵

Dan Reynolds and Imagine Dragons have their hearts in the right place on “Wrecked,” even if execution holds them back to a degree. 

“Oh, I’m a wreck without you here / Yeah, I’m a wreck since you’ve been gone.”  Those are relatable emotions that 🎙  Dan Reynolds depicts on 🎵  “Wrecked”, a single from 💿  Mercury – Act 1, the new LP from 🎙  Imagine Dragons.  Inspired by the passing of his sister-in-law who succumbed to cancer, the sentiment of the record is clear.  The question is, does the 🏆 Grammy-winning collective execute what they’re going for perfectly?

As a song, “Wrecked” is in a similar vein to Imagine Dragons’ music of the past in many ways.  We get verses that are performed with more subtlety, while the chorus is ‘epic’ (arguably, overblown).  Basically, Reynolds takes the time on the verses to share his grief of loss, hence, it makes sense to ‘pull back’ as opposed to being overt.  He follows both verses with two sections prior to the chorus: a refrain (“My mind is a place that I can’t escape”) and the pre-chorus (“Sometimes I wish that I could see you one more day”).  Of course, the big moment – that signature I.D. gargantuan stance – comes on the ‘wrecked’ chorus:

“Oh, I’m a wreck without you here
Yeah, I’m a wreck since you’ve been gone
I’ve tried to put this all behind me
I think I was wrecked all along.”

Again, the premise and emotion of the song are there. However, the execution is questionable.  “Wrecked” lacks a degree of finesse that I’d hoped the band could’ve locked down to make this a stronger record.  Or maybe, at this point, Dragons have just shown all their cards.

Final Thoughts 💭 

To reiterate, Imagine Dragons express a saddened sentiment sufficiently on “Wrecked.”  For that, they deserve kudos.  However, my reservation with “Wrecked” is that I’m unsure it ‘lands’ perfectly.  I like and laud the idea of it, but I’m not as moved as I’d hope to be mostly because of the execution.  Nonetheless, there’s something here.

🎙 Imagine Dragons • 💿 Mercury – Act 1 • 🏷 KIDinaKORNER / Interscope • 🗓 9.3.21

[📷: KIDinaKORNER / Interscope]