Imagine Dragons: It's Time (The Occidental Saloon Presents)
"I'm never changing who I am"
In an industry tempered with vocals and consistent keyboard drums, there are few times when a glimmer of musicianship flashes from behind fabricated clouds.
Las Vegas' Imagine Dragons have created a commercially big sound without changing who they are as dynamic and coherent musicians. Coming originally from Provo, UT, the quartet has had a very conventional rise, packed into a very short amount of time. After a stream of battle of the band wins, the band stacked into the studio in 2009, recording their first two EPs, Imagine Dragons and Hell and Silence (Mark Needham). Signing a deal with Interscope Records in the later part of 2011, the group seems to be on the right track, and that track might be It’s Time.
In all honesty, I love the original recording of this song -- it's highly accessible commercially, while having that indie style that a lot of audiences can appreciate and respect. The track can hit a lot of audiences, using elements of indie rock, nu-folk, and Americana. This version filmed for Occidental Saloon, on the other hand, is absolutely awe-inspiring.
From the beginning once that first step-slap is hit, there is that moment where you think to yourself, "Wow that was different, maybe I should keep listening". Stacking the mandolin on top of acoustic guitars, presenting it as the principle instrument, is genius. It sticks out like a sore thumb in all the best ways, and mixed with the foot drum technique (which acts as more of a heart-pumper than a drum), keeps the listener on their toes, waiting for the next harmony, next riff, next lyric. It's very apparent how passionate this group is about their music; you can just hear it in lead singer Dan Reynolds' voice.
Continued Silence is the name of their latest EP released this past Valentine's Day, and I'm looking forward to more passionate musicianship from this intellectual crew.
If you like this track, I recommend:
Imagine Dragons: Radioactive
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