Imagine Dragons Night Visions

Historically, there's a progression that bands usually follow before their sound goes full-on arena rock. Things will start small and gritty, and then as the fame and crowds build, the sound changes to match the massiveness of the venues. However, on their debut album, Imagine Dragons buck tradition and swing straight for the cheap seats, doing away with generations of sonic evolution in favor of the huge, arena-made sound of Night Visions. Dramatic and sweeping, the Las Vegas band works in the same vein as pop giants Coldplay, offering up track after track of hooky and emotional midtempo jams.

Tracks such as beat heavy opener “Radioactive” and the masterfully layered “Demons” could be performed acoustically around the campfire or electrified in concert. “Tiptoe” has elements of classic ‘80s technopop, while “On Top of the World” is a joyous handclap-driven number with big harmony vocals on the chorus and happy drumming. Both the airplay-friendly sound and thoughtful lyrics of “Every Night” are timeless.