For fans of: Neon Trees, Walk the Moon
Singles to download: ‘Gold,’ ‘I’m So Sorry,’ ‘Polaroid’

As the myth goes, the name Imagine Dragons is the anagram of a phrase that held special meaning for the members of the band. Never having revealed what the original phrase was, Imagine Dragons leaves both fans desperately wondering what motivates the band and critics mocking their seemingly superficial process and pointed secrecy.

To many contemporary audiences in 2015, the Las Vegas-based band represents everything that is wrong with modern rock. There are synths not guitars; they’re played too much on the radio to be real rock; their lyrics don’t mean anything. The list goes on. These are the complaints that Imagine Dragons have faced following their meteoric rise to stardom over the past two years. Yet, the most comparable band out there now, The Black Keys, rarely receives the same criticism. Despite their radio play, overwhelming synths and vague, lamenting lyrics, The Black Keys are widely respected as the pinnacle of rock in this new age.

This past Tuesday, Imagine Dragons released their sophomore album, “Smoke + Mirrors.” Given the popularity of their debut “Night Visions,” saying “Smoke + Mirrors” is a sophomore album just seems wrong. A band with only one album is not supposed to be this ubiquitous, yet Imagine Dragons have somehow managed it. Arguably, the traditional sophomore pitfalls of experimenting with a different sound or just failing to recapture the same lightning-in-a-bottle luck (or musical innovation) of the debut should apply to Imagine Dragons’ new offering. But they won’t. It’s been over two years since the release of “Night Visions.” We as a public have processed it, criticized it, appreciated it and moved on. By now, there’s no expectation on “Smoke + Mirrors” to best “Night Visions.” And Imagine Dragons knows that.

Even though the prevailing theme of “Night Visions” was an apocalyptic doomsday, every song on the album was upbeat with a strong hook. With “Smoke + Mirrors,” the same themes are there, but the upbeat tinge is gone.

The album opens with the lines “I’m sorry for everything/Oh, everything I’ve done” on the high-energy song “Shots.” Arguably the only track that retains any of the upbeat feel of Night Visions, “Shots” still finds itself mired in the melancholy of singer Dan Reynolds’ voice. “Shots” fades directly into the discordant, ominous cloak of “Gold.” Jarring with static background and quick cuts between chord progressions linked by the whistles of a sociopath, “Gold” also keeps the doomsday theme as Reynolds crows “now you can’t tell the false from the real/Who can you trust.”

Where “Smoke + Mirrors” really hits its stride is with the fourth track “I’m So Sorry.” Here, fully channeling The Black Keys’ vibe, Imagine Dragons seeks to completely overpower the listener musically. Easily the strongest song on the album, “I’m So Sorry” is the traditional rock ballad with country crooner lyrics laid over head-banging guitars. Mirroring the hard-hitting “I’m So Sorry” is “Trouble,” with its fast-paced call for redemption. If the beginning of the album serves to illustrate the descent into the despair of the band, the middle is the nadir of absolute melancholy and “Trouble” is the start of the climb back to happiness. The album culminates with the more optimistic “Summer,” the reflective “Hopeless Opus” and “The Fall.” Reynolds is as in tune with his emotions as any celebrated indie rock outfit currently being heralded as the savior of music.

Where Imagine Dragons fails at least in music circles is their production value. Anytime a band caters to the fans of mainstream pop, critics hiss and sneer because of course the public is inferior and so their tastes are wrong. Every song on “Smoke + Mirrors” has the distinct feel of being produced by the mainstream pop machine, and for all practical purposes it probably was—producer Alex Da Kid commonly works with pop figureheads such as Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.

But underneath all the mainstream production, Imagine Dragons has once again crafted an unobtrusive album with very few flaws. It tells a tale of falling from grace only to fight back for redemption. Once upon a time after the release of their EP “Continued Silence,” Imagine Dragons were heralded as the champions of indie rock. If “Night Visions” was their fall from indie scene, “Smoke + Mirrors” is their attempt for redemption.