Origins
by Imagine Dragons
User Score
6.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 242 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 135 out of 242
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 242
  3. Negative: 73 out of 242
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. alexix7
    Nov 10, 2018
    4
    What a disappointment. After promising singles I believed that Origins would be great. But what i got ? Musical mess. When i heard preview of Digital, i was thinking that it could be my new favourite ID song. Then i heard it all and i was asking myself "wtf is this"? Dubstep ? Really ? I was in already in shock when i heard Bullet in a Gun, which is awful too. I quite like West Coast,What a disappointment. After promising singles I believed that Origins would be great. But what i got ? Musical mess. When i heard preview of Digital, i was thinking that it could be my new favourite ID song. Then i heard it all and i was asking myself "wtf is this"? Dubstep ? Really ? I was in already in shock when i heard Bullet in a Gun, which is awful too. I quite like West Coast, which has some good Mumfordish-like vibes. But what next ? Cool Out is joke, as are Stuck and Love. Fortunately, Birds are really good and at the end the best - Real Life is best song on the album. I really love it and i just do not understand, why ID dont try to make more songs like this. To sum up, Origins as the whole is really bad album. It has some unforgettable songs,but that is not enough. I hope that they come much more stronger and more focused on what are they really good at with their next album.

    Listen to: Zero, Machine, Real Life
    Avoid to listen: Bullet in a Gun, Digital, Stuck, Love    … Expand
  2. StavoSwift13
    Nov 16, 2018
    6
    Origins no cumple la premisa del título del álbum. Intenta volver a los orígenes de Night Visions y Smoke + Mirrors pero en una forma actual, con ritmos modernos logrando perder la esencia y el título de ser llamados "Banda de Rock". Si bien hay títulos dentro del álbum (3 ó 4) que te harán estallar, bailar, y dejarte totalmente enfocado y sumergido en la melodia y producción, en sonidosOrigins no cumple la premisa del título del álbum. Intenta volver a los orígenes de Night Visions y Smoke + Mirrors pero en una forma actual, con ritmos modernos logrando perder la esencia y el título de ser llamados "Banda de Rock". Si bien hay títulos dentro del álbum (3 ó 4) que te harán estallar, bailar, y dejarte totalmente enfocado y sumergido en la melodia y producción, en sonidos comúnmente buenos, Origins no promete nada, más que ser olvidable. Un trabajo con tan buena producción y composición lírica se vio opacado por referencias electropop bastante malas. Cuando crees que han hecho un buen trabajo, con elementos de sus anteriores álbumes pero, francamente renovado y fresco, llegan a la mitad y tiran todo en una espiral de sonidos y mezclas de ritmos que no terminan de funcionar.
    La voz de Dan por primera vez no pudo hacerlo más rescatable. Buen disco por las entrañas, desde su interior pero inmensamente malo conforme vas al plano y comercial exterior. 6.7 para Imagine Dragons    … Expand
  3. PlugInBaby
    Dec 22, 2018
    6
    The album is by no means perfect but when an album like Night Visions exists it's hard to catch lightning in a bottle twice. Most of the singles are great, especially Zero, Machine as well as other songs like Digital which was insane but good. Unfortunately it's let down by cuts such as Stuck, Only and Bad Liar. Regardless, not as bad as everyone thinks
  4. Joel_Freecheck
    May 29, 2020
    6
    "Cool Out" and "Natural" don't belong on an album as rushed as Origins. Imagine Dragons should have repackaged this project as a Bsides collection for Evolve.
  5. Jevus
    Jun 25, 2019
    6
    Imagine Dragons is a group that has always played with pop, such as "Top Of The World", "Shots", "Thunder", etc. but this album is blatantly pop most of the songs but that does not bother me, lately they have released singles that sound or want to sound like "Radioactive" and I'm fed up with the fact that they continue to exploit that very repetitive sound, I could say that It's refreshingImagine Dragons is a group that has always played with pop, such as "Top Of The World", "Shots", "Thunder", etc. but this album is blatantly pop most of the songs but that does not bother me, lately they have released singles that sound or want to sound like "Radioactive" and I'm fed up with the fact that they continue to exploit that very repetitive sound, I could say that It's refreshing to hear them in another style. It is not the great thing this album, it is one of the most mediocre, too inconsistent, does not contribute anything musically, only sound different. "Digital" is so bad, it sounds dreadful I do not know how they could let it come out on the album, since Cardi B's "Money Bag" had not heard such a dangerous thing for the ears, it's annoying and it attacks the timpans.… Expand
  6. pedrccc
    Sep 1, 2019
    6
    O album é apresenta uma confusão sonora onde apresenta altos e baixos gigantes por conta de uma tracklist bagunçada e ressalto as músicas "Birds", "West Coast", "Boomerang" e "Bullet in a gun" como músicas importantes dentro dele.
  7. NolanLundgaard
    Apr 11, 2020
    5
    Origins by Imagine Dragons: 4.66

    Natural: 1 :) Boomerang: 1 :) Machine: 0.5 Cool Out: 0.75 Bad Liar: 1! West Coast: 1 Zero: 1 :) Bullet In A Gun: 0.25 Digital: 0 Only: 0.5 Stuck: 0.25 Love: 0.75 Birds: 0.5 Burn Out: 0.75 Real Life: 1 :) 10.25/15 ~ .683 -> 4.66 Origins is the latest (though not the greatest) album by Imagine Dragons. I had really high hopes for this    Origins by Imagine Dragons: 4.66

    Natural: 1 :)
    Boomerang: 1 :)
    Machine: 0.5
    Cool Out: 0.75
    Bad Liar: 1!
    West Coast: 1
    Zero: 1 :)
    Bullet In A Gun: 0.25
    Digital: 0
    Only: 0.5
    Stuck: 0.25
    Love: 0.75
    Birds: 0.5
    Burn Out: 0.75
    Real Life: 1 :)

    10.25/15 ~ .683 -> 4.66

    Origins is the latest (though not the greatest) album by Imagine Dragons. I had really high hopes for this album, as I had heard Natural and Zero before listening to the rest of it. Sadly, besides a couple of other songs, those are the only two I would stick with and not listen to the rest of the album. Originally, it was kind of fun listening to this new style that Imagine Dragons picked up, as it was more energetic (think Night Visions), but sadly Origins relies too much on generic electronic drums and synthesizer effects that can be hard to listen to. I’ve already been over Natural, which is a fantastic song, full of energy and has the true Imagine Dragons spirit that I’ve seen little of since Night Visions. I also really liked Boomerang, as I enjoyed the lyrics as well as the classy mild synths that they incorporated into this song. Machine was a taste of further disappointment to come. Its lyrics and theme were great, but the amount of distortion that was used was a little overwhelming. The bass was really “cool” in Cool Out, as was the piano and electric guitar riff at the end. There was a minor e-drum issue but it wasn’t horrible since it wasn’t super distracting. Everything seemed to fit together well in that song, great execution. Bad Liar was stunning. Powerful lyrics, calmer music, and evident emotion make for a really good song. West Coast was overall a great song, and I want to learn more about the meaning behind it. The acoustic guitar was really jamming. I loved the song Zero. I first heard it during Ralph Breaks the Internet and fell in love with it, and it really made me want to start listening to Origins. Bullet In A Gun was just a weird song. There were some odd invasive electric drums with whack timing, which is a bummer because I hate both. There was also a really strange post-chorus, but I liked the lyrics in this song. I thought things wouldn’t get worse than Bullet, but then Digital came on. The second dose of the distortion bass didn’t work either (shocker), and the record scratch was weird. The whole song was a little hard to listen to, as the bass had weird timing and there was the weird techno yelling in the bridge--it was all just too much. The message was pretty good but I couldn’t appreciate it because everything was so whack in this song. Pretty much my definition of a disaster. Only started out good, and I hoped that it would cleanse the awfulness of the previous two songs, but it was only great until the chorus, where staccato synths and generic drums came in. I enjoyed its lyrics though. Stuck featured generic drums with awful timing, but the lyrics were actually really good but it was a shame since the drums were that bad. It was a “meh” song overall except for lyric quality. Love also had the generic sounding high-hat, but I loved its message. One of best things about Imagine Dragons was the creative drum pop they made back in the Night Visions days, which is now gone upon the entrance of the e-drums. The message was great in Birds, but it was also plagued by the generic drums used in many other songs in Origins. Burn Out was calmer, which was a plus. It also featured great lyrics and I could tell that lots of emotion went into this song. Real Life was actually decent. It had amazing music composed of acoustic guitar, synthesizer, and some piano parts. It was full of energy, which I appreciated, and I loved its lyrics and message of being present with people. Overall, Origins is a rather mediocre work from Imagine Dragons, though there are a few great songs thrown in here. The problem is that Imagine Dragons seemed to try too hard to be mainstream, while one of the things I really liked about them was how different their music was structurally to other pop. The way this album started out was really nice, though. I hope they keep making music like Natural and Zero. Highlights: Natural, Boomerang, Bad Liar, West Coast, Zero, and Real Life.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Most Discussed Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. Q Magazine
    Nov 20, 2018
    80
    It follows the million-dollar formula laid down on 2017's Evolve a little too closely. ... But as emotional Trojan Horses go, few do it better. [Jan 2019, p.110]
  2. PopMatters
    Nov 15, 2018
    50
    Imagine Dragons are confident in their capability and knowledge of pop music, but Origins tries too hard to demonstrate their varied interests with the results generic and indistinct.
    Read full review
  3. New Musical Express (NME)
    Nov 15, 2018
    40
    More often than not Origins falls flat, with insipid choruses and melodramatic refrains. Big, bold and a little bit naff, this is another bread and butter album from a mindbogglingly huge group.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »