Alternative rock/indie band, Imagine Dragons, released their second album, Smoke + Mirrors, Feb. 17, 2015. The album contains 13 tracks, mainly written and produced by the band’s members, plus eight bonus songs on the super deluxe version of their album.

The album’s first single, “I Bet My Life”, was released Oct. 27, 2014. Hearing their lead single, I assumed their album was going to have more “edge” to it compared to their first successful album, Night Visions. After listening to the full album, I knew I made the right assumption.

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Opening with “Shots”, I was instantly won over by the guitar and melody. Continuing on, the album kept getting better and better. There were several songs that were similar to their last album, such as “Polaroid”, “It Comes Back to You”, and “Hopeless Opus”, but “I’m So Sorry”, “Friction”, and “Warriors”, a bonus song, showed a new, bolder side of the band. They were edgier and rocky songs, with a touch of an angry vibe to them. Many tracks could also be compared different songs, such as rock band, Awolnation’s song “Sail” with “Gold”.

When I finished the album, I tried to go through and pick a favorite song; I couldn’t, as each track was enjoyable. For being a fan of Imagine Dragons since 2012, my expectations were high, but they were met. Smoke + Mirrors has an indescribable sound overall; it can be viewed as more mature than Night Visions, having a more heavier and fearless sound to it as a whole, while having a select smoother and chiller songs.