After the catharsis of 2021's
Act 1
,
Imagine Dragons
complete the story with
Mercury: Act 2
, a whopping 19-track journey that examines the time after the shock and grief of loss has begun to settle. While part one processed those messy emotions with some of the rawest and most vulnerable moments in the band's usual radio- and gym-friendly catalog, part two loses focus by biting off more than they can chew. There are plenty of great songs here -- fully expected for a band as hook-savvy as
-- but there's simply too much going on and not enough editorial trimming to make this as impactful an experience as
. Starting strong with irresistible singles "Bones" and "Sharks,"
Act 2
soon takes a turn to the pensive and reflective, with frontman
Dan Reynolds
lamenting his shortcomings on "I Don't Like Myself" and pleading for relief on "Take It Easy." The second half of the album is weighed down by similar moments, snuffing the momentum of the handful of classic stompers peppered throughout. Of this introspective bunch, the country-dusted acoustic gem "Crushed" is on par with "Wrecked" as a tearjerking standout, as "Sirens" merges the group's usual radio-friendly ear with a deep well of emotion. While the buoyant handclaps-and-synths highlight "Younger" and the riffs-and-breakbeats blazer "Blur" come closest to joining their array of mainstream smashes on a future Greatest Hits set, the bulk of
is truly for the dedicated fans who care to patiently sit with
Reynolds
and his feelings until everyone's ready to pump out a more focused and immediate set. ~ Neil Z. Yeung