Which song do you like better, WWWU or Walls?

Really really well said. And I really think Shanks will be with the band until the end. He's produces everything Jon does, writes with him and now plays guitar in the band. Losing him would have a giant impact on how the band operates.

its true shanks follows orders and i m sure he is quite capable in many ways. the role of a producer though is VERY VERY important...he makes the artist reach his potential, he makes tough decisions, he can and should be the mvp of a good record..
jon has reached a stage of his career he doesnt really care, he wont stay in the studio forever to find a better lick or melody, he wants efficiency, speed and reults, he wants to sound fresh but the result isnt what could have been,
if you are a veteran you dont have to spend endless hours to find good sounds and great performances BUT certain songs sound too simplistic and uninspired the last years.
if a new producer came by jon would leave his comfort zone, noone knows the results but i am not too happy with the majority of the new songs personaly. i m sure if he was pushed by someone he looked up to he would bring his a game

He is an artist with more than 30 years of career, it is logical to settle in his conford, much of the passion is evident that is gone. I think that at this point he has the right to stay there. It hurts me to say this, but there will be no major changes, some songs may be ok, and be satisfactory, but the point of descent has arrived, I hope that at least it is with style. THINFS was not that bad, and there were some good songs on BB. Walls is not terrible. What Do You Got and Because We Can were terrible.

Shanks has recently made his social media e.g. twitter and instagram PRIVATE. Does it mean he finally got sick of the shit thrown at him or what?

Shanks wasn't What do you got though. This ain't a Shanks problem.

My point was not about the producer, but about Jon. Sometimes it will do better and others worse, but I think it's still worthwhile to continue and wait good things.

i agree the lvl of the new material is decent, and there are some songs that really stand out, for me teardrop IS a great great song. thinfs was towards a right direction imo but jon has to find his passion and his voice. he must work with someone who will challenge him more and he should reinvent the live experience as well imo. more acoustic stuff, a couple of surprises bsides and covers.
when jon feels confident about his voice we see glimpses of the glorious frontman, when he feels his voice gives up he loses every desire to be there...sao paolo was a magic moment for example, that ending...
ps. it looks like there is heavier use of playback, for example the intro of god bless this mess must be tape and not live, i am not sure 100% but its sad for a great live band like them...
take ur acoustic and play whatever u like in low key, it will probably be great dont follow that road

ps. how bad the when we were us video is??? noone cares anymore in the band??? i ve seen a couple fan made videos that are truly better in every sense. i know they dont depend in videos and dont want to invest money but every semi professional outhere could put together sth better with all the available material from the past...
jon has left tidal make the videos for free with a couple of sponsors but he sells himself short. this video is unacceptable and should be thrown away

At least Walls tries to rock, even the absence of any guitars, thanks to Tico and Dave being allowed to inject some personality. WWWU, on the other hand, is play-it-safe Top 40/adult contemporary we-gotta-get-something-on-the-radio schlock which I have absolutely no interest in ever hearing again.

that's the biggest problem with all these new songs

I hated WWWU. Didn't do anything for me. On the other hand, Walls is fantastic. I've been listening on repeat all day long since yesterday. I love the melody, and i love the Imagine Dragons vibe. Awesome tune !