Evolve (Imagine Dragons album) on September 13, 2016, with a picture of guitarist Wayne Sermon in the band's recording studio and continued releasing cryptic messages over the next four months. On January 24, 2017, the band tweeted "goodnight +", effectively ending the "Smoke + Mirrors" album cycle. Reynolds had noted that the album, compared to "Night Visions" and "Smoke + Mirrors", is "an evolution for Imagine Dragons". The album's sound has been described as pop rock while containing elements of R&B, hip hop and EDM. In the months leading up to the album's release, Imagine Dragons used the caption "ƎE" in multiple social media
Next to Me (Imagine Dragons song) is some of the first times that I've really explored diving into my mind and musicality and sonicality of romance." He regarded it as "something everybody can relate to", which is the "feeling like you are going to fail sometimes in a relationship and the true value of a relationship is what happens then". An accompanying short film for the song was released on March 13, 2018. The video stars the lead singer, Dan Reynolds, and his wife, Aja Volkman. In the video, Aja leaves Dan due to his problems, leading to him attempting to sell his wedding ring. The