The album was produced by the band members themselves, Alex da Kid, Mattman & Robin, John Hill, Joel Little, Tim Randolph, and Jayson DeZuzio, who produced a majority of the band's previous effort on their third studio album, Evolve (2017), as well as Jorgen Odegard.

[citation needed] Hannah Mylrea of NME described the album as "stuffed full of stadium-filling slices of the band's trademark electronic infused pop-rock", [3] while Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stated that he felt the band attempted to make Origins blend in with rock, pop, electronic, and soul music playlists.

[citation needed] On October 20, 2018, the band revealed the track listing for the standard version of the album on Twitter.

[15] On June 20, 2019, Imagine Dragons released the fifth single off the album, "Birds", featuring Italian singer Elisa.

[18] The Independent gave the album a positive review, stating that "Origins is further proof of Reynolds' pop songwriting capabilities and also his ambition when it comes to pushing the messages that matter onto the charts.

"[24] Newsday also gave the album a positive review, saying this: "It's no wonder that "Origins" sounds like the start of something even bigger for Imagine Dragons.

"[23] Another positive review came from The Daily Campus, which stated that "Imagine Dragons has once again shown why they are one of the most popular rock bands in the world with "Origins" including a plethora of contagious rock-pop anthems that will have fans singing their hearts out across the country.

"[20] A more mixed review came from AllMusic, which noted that "the group takes pains to be able to fit onto every kind of playlist imaginable: rock, pop, electronic, soul-any popular sound that can be sculpted and shaped by a streaming service" and that "everything sounds vaguely familiar, vaguely connected, all designed to function as a soundtrack to whatever task you'd like".

[19] Pitchfork also gave the album a mixed review, stating "Reynolds has a story to tell, but the music fails to be the ideal delivery system.

"[27] The Guardian gave the album a negative review, stating that "the most streamed rock band in the world may want us to believe that they are angry philosophers, but the reality doesn't change a gilt-edged mainstream formula.

[25] NME also gave a negative review, stating "scattershot and uninspired, 'Origins', the fourth album from the bafflingly popular Imagine Dragons, make for a grueling listen.