My choice for my second year's "Invalid Item"  hosted by Jeff is Reflections, the Imagine Dragons collection of demos released on February 21st, 2025.

These fourteen previously unheard of¹ songs were gathered from the archives to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their 2015 sophomore album, Smoke + Mirrors. Reflections is not a standard toured, promoted album, and has no music videos. Rather it is a scrapbook, a sampling of unfinished projects from the era, something which devoted fans will appreciate as a glimpse into the craft and mindset of lead singer/songwriter Dan Reynolds.

I selected Reflections for the Musicology Anthology because of the straightforward tracklist (no deluxe editions or bonus tracks) and the exciting storytelling potential. I also chose it so I would have an excuse to bond more deeply with each song.

The tracks range in style from whimsical eighties flavored love ditties (Playing Me and Strange Ways) to experimental, off-the-wall techno (The Ghost Intervention) to fully-produced pop-rock tunes hearkening back to the Dragons origins in the mid-aughts (Mayday) or murky, philosophical dreamscapes exploring Dan's heavier emotions (Black and Destroyed.)

I tried to do justice to this quirky collection by one of my favorite artists. Few people outside of the fan base will ever pay attention to Reflections; it has received little to no media analysis. Please enjoy my efforts

1. A slight misnomer, as I Bet My Life was a single off of Smoke + Mirrors. This is the demo version, with a different bridge and lighter production. Also note that many super fans are familiar with "secret," unofficial or leaked versions of some of these.