NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 The ambiguity of Imagine Dragons' next album starts from the cover.
Two figures stand in the distance separated by a dawning sun. Or is it setting? Lead singer and songwriter , who dreamed it up, sees it both ways.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 really tell if it鈥檚 a sunset or a sunrise, and then there are two people kind of separated standing in front of it. That really kind of sums it up thematically when I listen to it," he tells The Associated Press.
鈥淚s the beginning of something new, or is this the end of something? And the sunset and the sunrise always kind of feels that way to me. It could be either/or.鈥
From the paranoid, slightly demented hip-hop-rock opening song 鈥淲ake Up鈥 鈥 with Reynolds singing: 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 coming for you/Wake up!鈥 鈥 to the strummy, swaying 鈥淭ake Me to the Beach,鈥 it鈥檚 clear the nine-track album called 鈥淟oom鈥 isn鈥檛 one thing. The album comes out June 28.
It's the first album since Reynolds鈥 divorce from musician Aja Volkman and there are songs about moving on 鈥 the sunny flirtatious 鈥淣ice to Meet Ya鈥 鈥 but also looking behind, like the bittersweet 鈥淚n Your Corner鈥 鈥 鈥淵ou turned your back/And now we鈥檙e here鈥 鈥 and 鈥淒on鈥檛 Forget Me,鈥 with the lyrics 鈥淕uess we got lost in the light.鈥
鈥淚 just start creating and whatever comes out is what it is. That鈥檚 how I鈥檝e been since I was 12. I try not to overthink it,鈥 says Reynolds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just an honest output sonically, lyrically of how I鈥檓 feeling in the moment.鈥
For the driving, anthemic 鈥淜id,鈥 Reynolds says he came into the studio with his life a little chaotic. He just spoke words that he was feeling over a drum loop: 鈥淵ou got to get yourself together, kid/You got to get it together.鈥 Then the band started building. The song, inspired by the 鈥90s music he loves, like by Gorillaz, became an exhortation for America, so adding a choir made sense.
鈥淲e had a lot of fun creating that one in the studio. I love the juxtaposition of things that are kind of tongue-in-cheek, but also maybe dark,鈥 he says. 鈥淗eavy concepts, but playful at the same time.鈥
鈥淟oom鈥 was recorded in a new way for Imagine Dragons, which includes guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. For one thing, the band abandoned their usual preference for multiple producers in favor of just one 鈥 the Swedish duo of
Another change was approaching it fresh. 鈥淲e usually go into the record having a bunch of demos that we鈥檝e already just self-produced and done on our own,鈥 Reynolds says. 鈥淏ut this one we had a bunch of demos and we just scrapped everything and went in with a clean slate.鈥
鈥淟oom鈥 comes two years after a brooding, raw confessional double album that dealt with heartache, tragedy and Reynolds' struggles with sobriety.
the new album's first single, signals a change, with a big stormy banger and the chest-pounding lyrics: 鈥淚鈥檓 back from the dead, from the back of my head/Been gone and facin鈥 horrors that should never be said.鈥
Reynolds says he was going for a blustery, arrogant vibe but revealing a vulnerable core. 鈥淚t really was about being something that on the outside looks put together and strong,鈥 he says, 鈥渂ut on the inside it鈥檚 on the verge of maybe shattering.鈥
The title of the album 鈥 鈥淟oom鈥 鈥 has multiple meanings. 鈥淛ust because something is looming doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean it鈥檚 bad. It could be good,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 also love the idea of the double meaning of it, kind of being a tapestry.鈥
in support of 鈥淟oom,鈥 kicking off June 30 in Camden, New Jersey, at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion and hitting such cities at Dallas, Seattle; Toronto; West Palm Beach, Florida; Denver; Charlotte, North Carolina; Phoenix; Salt Lake City; and concluding on Oct. 22 at the Hollywood Bowl.
Reynolds says touring is deep within Imagine Dragons' DNA and speaks about playing live as if it were a massive therapeutic effort, which their shows often become.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a lot of people in a room together realizing they鈥檙e not alone in their their feelings,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 necessarily need them to feel happy or sad or anything. I just want them to look around them and see that other people are also feeling something and feeling, 鈥業鈥檓 not alone in that.鈥欌
Songs from 鈥淟oom鈥 will make the setlist, of course. Reynolds considers it one of the band's most up-tempo collections, even though there are ballads and slow moments.
鈥淎 lot of the record is kind trying to come to terms with just accepting. Things are looming and incoming, for better or for worse, and there's just really nothing you could do other than accept it,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 still haven鈥檛 learned to do that, but we will.鈥
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Mark Kennedy is at
