Reykjavik, Iceland's own Of Monsters and Men have arrived stateside in the U.S. with their debut release, "My Head Is An Animal". The Icelandic folk rockers have been gaining some notice in the scene thanks to the disc's amazing first single, "Little Talks" which has been quickly gaining steam at alternative radio stations across the country. The album is an eclectic and diverse mixture of indie folk with just a dash of pop to make it stand out from the rest of the crop.
The album opens up with "Dirty Paws" a calm, ethereal tune with the dual vocal harmonies of Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir and Raggi Porhallsson to create a harmonic bond between the two that lasts throughout this song and all of the others featured here on the album. "King and Lionheart" features more prominent guitar riffs that settle in rather nicely and feature the same dual vocal power that was featured in the prior track, something that is very rare to find in music these days. "Mountain Sound" is a upbeat, sonic blast that will have you grooving along to the song upon the second you first hear it with wonderful percussion and with Nanna and Raggi trading turns at the microphone to create something to behold right before your very ears. "From Finner" is another standout track that best expresses the overall simplicity of their music, with rampant folk melodies doing their part in ensuring that the song is heard in all facets both instrumentally and vocally at the same time. By far my favorite song on the album is the aforementioned first single, "Little Talks" an amazing, bombastic tune complete with uptempo rhythms and vivacious instrumentation throughout that makes this song one of the inescapable songs we've heard so far in 2012.
The disc's second half gets underway with "Love Love Love" a warm, inviting tune that starts out with Nanna's warm, inviting vocal prowess giving way to the songs easy going and breezy instrumentation that runs rampant throughout. "Your Bones" features an incredible vocal performance from Raggi that blends in wonderfully with the organic and homegrown instrumentation that is a pleasant and relaxing song to unwind to during the day. "Sloom" is a mostly acoustic based track that takes a bare bones approach so that the listener can take notice of all the different instrumentation that makes up the song and they correlate to one another. The disc ultimately concludes on "Yellow Light" an ambient, melancholy track that ties up all the songs together in one cohesive package and presents a band that knows their own sense of style and purpose within the music scene and how the audience will react to each of the songs featured here on the disc. Folk music is enjoying a resurgence these days with acts like Mumford & Sons and Fleet Foxes helping folk music make the transition into the mainstream a little bit, a move that we didn't see coming but are welcoming with open arms as the musical tastes of listeners are changing by the minute as we speak.
Overall, a strong and cohesive debut effort from Of Monsters and Men, who are helping to spearhead the folk renaissance movement and also help Iceland get on the musical map within the folk genre and help out their musical peers there as well.
Album Score: 4/5
Track Listing:
- Dirty Paws
- King and Lionheart
- Mountain Sound
- Slow and Steady
- From Finner
- Little Talks
- Six Weeks
- Love Love Love
- Your Bones
- Sloom
- Lakehouse
- Yellow Light
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