Of Monsters and Men : My Head Is an Animal

One criterion that I personally factor when deciding whether a holistic album is a success is whether it has a good ratio and mix of high and low moments. While there are exceptions to this rule, such as The xx's XX (yeah, that's a lot of x's in a row) which is charming because it blatantly breaks this rule and succeeds at being a largely monotone album that's still fun to listen to, I think that, for the most part, albums need a sort of ebb and flow. I think a lot of "real" reviewers (and by that, I don't mean that their opinions matter more than mine or anyone else's, but that they get paid to do so) would agree with this. This can take shape in two different ways: the songs within the album are highs and lows themselves (i.e. Track 1 is loud and exciting, track 2 is slower and melodic, track 3 is lively--it doesn't have to be this sequential, but you get my drift) or that the songs themselves have natural highs and lows in them (think Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"). It's not often, though, that you find an album that does both, especially both very well.

My Head Is an Animal

Of Monster and Men's first production does just that.

This quirky band from I-don't-know-the-key-commands-required-to-let-me-type-the-name-of-their-hometown in Iceland is new to the music scene. Though they've been getting air time on local indie radio stations for some time now, their first album My Head Is an Animal came out earlier this month and it is quite good. They began their North American tour earlier this year at South by Southwest and have been blowing up ever since, with a slew of sold-out shows coming up along with appearances at Toronto's new music festival Osheaga and, of course, Chicago's Lollapalooza.

This band has such a fun, upbeat sound that reflects their Icelandic counterparts Sigur Ros, without the language barrier and more importantly without feeling like they're piggy-backing off their success. I'd throw in some Band of Horses and Manchester Orchestra in there too, not necessarily in terms of style, but in their overall theatricality.

If Iceland is the one that's
actually green, then why do
they all look so cold?

As I talked about before, Of Monsters and Men does a great job of mixing up highs and lows within songs and the songs within the album. Songs like "Yellow Light" showcase the lyrics with a simple, melodic background tune, while listening to songs like "From Finner" with booming drums and a chorus that crashes like a waterfall only to flow seamlessly into the verse that follows.

The album's single is also a really strong song within itself, highlighting the voices of both Nanna Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar þórhallsson (don't ask me how to pronounce either of those names) as they playfully carry out a conversation throughout the song on top of a layer of equally playful instrumentation.

I highly recommend you check out this album. It's a great listening experience and you'll be glad you took the time to do so. Though I haven't taken this album out for a spin in a car myself, I think that it would be a great album for driving around in the increasingly beautiful weather this summer. I know it will definitely be playing for at least part of the way as I'm driving to Lollapalooza this summer.

Check out this legit music video for My Head Is an Animal's single "Little Talks" here: