The latest chart monsters

Success has catapulted Imagine Dragons’ lead singer to stardom, says Ed Power

IN an antiseptic boardroom sit three regular guys and one rock star. The normal guys are the guitarists and rhythm section of chart topping dance-rock band, Imagine Dragons. In Bono-shades and a vast, puffa jacket, the rock star is singer, Dan Reynolds.

Reynolds is transformed. Two months ago, doing press in London, he was soft spoken and stylishly scruffy, and seemed dazzled by the attention.

Since achieving a world-wide number one single, his image has been rebooted. The shades stay on and he leans back from the conversation, letting his lieutenants do the talking. When he speaks, everyone else falls conspicuously silent. His words, it seems, carry extra weight.

If Reynolds is subtly lording it over his bandmates, that is his prerogative. It was Reynolds who, two years ago, started Imagine Dragons in his Las Vegas apartment. A life-long depressive, he was emerging from a dark episode and feeling sorry for himself (his ambition to join the FBI was not working out).

Reynolds began composing a song. In half an hour, he penned Imagine Dragons’ first hit, a booming electro-pop crossover called ‘Radioactive’. In the US, it has catapulted the group into stadiums.

“Success doesn’t chase away the demons,” says Reynolds. “There are things that you carry around with you, things which stay with you. I mean, sure, it’s great to do well, to know that people want to hear your music. That is immensely flattering and encouraging. But it doesn’t make you a happier person. Some problems go a little deeper than superficial recognition. Some go a lot deeper.”

Imagine Dragons have travelled a long way, quickly. Signed to Universal Music a year ago, ‘Radioactive’ has established them as newcomers with major potential. Their album, Night Visions, crashed the US top five. This month, it became a sensation in Europe.

“It’s fantastic that we are doing this, because pop has been dominant for a while,” says Reynolds. “You have a whole new generation of bands bringing rock back. People like The Lumineers are doing their thing, you have Foster The People, Fun. All these very different groups bringing rock music back to prominence. It’s been a considerable time since a rock album topped the charts. We are very proud to do our bit.”

With their anthemic sound and stadium-ready frontman, it’s no surprise Imagine Dragons have been likened to The Killers. The band disagrees. Geography, not music, is the reason for the comparison, they say.

“If we were from some other area of America, I don’t think we would be spoken of in the same breath,” says guitarist, Ben McKee. “I can see why people would say there is a similarity. Sure, we are both rock bands, from a city that does not have a huge tradition of producing musicians. In terms of our music? Honestly, no, I don’t think so.”

“We don’t know them,” says Reynolds. “We’ve met once and thought they were good guys. And they’re a great band. We recorded some of our album at their studio, as a matter of fact. But we are not close.”

Las Vegas is an odd town, says Reynolds. There isn’t any ‘culture’, just endless blocks of hotels, casinos, bars. That gives the city its own personality. It imbues it with an unlikely authenticity. By staying true to itself, Vegas feels a lot more ‘real’ than many parts of America. “You’ve got fake Venice, fake Eiffel Tower, fake pyramids. Vegas is very upfront about what it is. It doesn’t have any airs and graces. And while it doesn’t necessarily have a huge amount happening, culturally, the fact it isn’t trying to be something it’s not gives it a great deal of substance, in my opinion,” he says.

It is not the easiest location from which to launch a career. “You don’t have many A’n’R man hanging about,” says Reynolds. “Vegas doesn’t have the tradition of producing major rock bands. On the other hand, LA is only two hours away, so we started out gigging there a lot. If you are from Las Vegas, you have to do things like that. You have to get in a van and bring your music to people. It’s all about hard work.”

Vegas was crucial in the group’s development. Reynolds recruited the rest of Imagine Dragons from across America (several members attended storied Berkeley Music College, in Boston). He brought them to Nevada, where they honed their act by performing on Vegas’ notorious ‘strip’.

“We were playing this room full of people taking a break from gambling,” says McKee. “It was an incredibly diverse audience. I mean, you literally had all the people who were going to the casinos.

“It’s a real challenge to hold a crowd in that environment. You could be out there gambling, or you could be in here, listening to us. If you can make that sort of room pay attention, then you can make anyone.”

Imagine Dragons’ sound is unashamedly commercial. Was it their goal, from the outset, to be an arena band? “What is most important is that we created music we loved and believed in,” says Reynolds. “If you’re not doing that, you are not going to be fulfilled. After that, you want to write songs that connect with other people. If you can achieve both of those things, so much the better. Ultimately, it is the music that matters.”

*Night Visions is out now.