My Head Is an Animal - Of Monsters and Men

Buy It Now

Missing something? Where was a "This Week in Music"? Amen, Amen, I say to the two people who read this blog. I was celebrating the resurrection of my Lord with chocolate and Peeps. Took a little vacation. Cool jelly beans?

If you're in Philadelphia and have turned on a radio, chances are you've heard of the Icelandic sextet Of Monsters and Men. And although the two or three singles sounded great, that has never been a sound indication of what the whole album should sound like. Even so, the band's debut LP, My Head Is an Animal, sets an extremely high bar for not only the future of the band but also for any indie folk band in general.

As a true gem, every song on My Head Is an Animal seems to possess the right amounts of both power and meekness through the harmonies of dual vocalists Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson. Backed by a supporting cast of extremely competent multi-instrumentalists, it seems as though the melodies swell and diminish at exactly the right moments. From the jovial shanty "Mountain Sound" to the tense, burning ballad of "Slow and Steady," every song seems so ridiculously catchy and easily memorable.

Despite all the other magnificent tracks, the album's master work has to be the epic "Lakehouse," which sums up the tone of the whole work through a joyous mixture of styles. What starts off as a slow acoustic hymn quickly then turns into an anthemic indie pop monolith and then morphs into a euphoric sing-a-long. Only the diminutive yet precisely clear voices of Nanna and Raggi remain constant.

Whether you are a fan of folk bands like Mumford and Sons or alt rockers like Young the Giant, this album is worth your time. I will even allow of Funeral-era Arcade Fire comparisons to pass. My Head Is an Animal is just that good. Anyone who has read this blog before should check it out because I guarantee you will be rewarded.

There are, nevertheless, those who would say I am falling into a clever Icelandic trap (like the one I assume catch small, arctic mammals). These reviewers claim the group's lyrics are weak, and it seems like the band just went through a checklist on "How to Make It in the American Indie Scene." To which I say this ... First, if you can pronounce the names of those Icelandic songbirds I mentioned above, you must have studied abroad in Reykjavik. I'm surprised these guys can write such poignant songs in the English language; even so, I was totally mesmerized by their arrangements to pick apart these lyrics bit by bit. Second, if they did follow a checklist, it wasn't for just the indie scene. I predict you're going to hear Of Monsters and Men everywhere soon enough.

For Your Consideration: It's All Good, but check out "Lakehouse" if you have to choose one.

For Next Time: I'll look around. I doubt that it's going to be better than this.