Of Monsters And Men - My Head Is An Animal (28/05/2012)
I have had this album for a couple of weeks and have been scratching my head, thinking up words to describe how magnificent it is. I am yet to come up with words that do it justice, but here it is. Joyous. Uplifting. Heartwarming. Spine-tingling. Bewitching...
The magical thing about My Head Is An Animal is that it opens strong, and continues to build upon itself without ever sliding into vanilla album-filler territory. 'Dirty Paws' is outstanding indie-folk that showcases the best of what you can expect from the Icelandic sextet. From its acoustic beginning with a harmonic male-female melody line playing in between a simple guitar riff, to a full band backing chanted vocals, the song takes on a stirring melodrama as it tells the story of “the beast with those four dirty paws”.
A steadily rollicking rhythm sweeps you into 'King and Lionheart', an uplifting testament to strength and courage with more whimsically enchanting lyrics. By the time you hit 'From Finner' you are well and truly under the spell of these troubadours. A highlight of the album, it's heavy on folk-influenced percussive sounds, the accordion lending it a gypsy quality.
'Little Talks' is the incredibly catchy tune that won them Iceland's battle of the bands competition, Músiktilraunir, and opens with triumphant trumpet and joyous chanting. As the song mellows out in the first verse, it builds towards a swollen, stirring finale, with accordion adding depth.
'Love Love Love' is a sweet ballad, an ode to lost love featuring sombre harmonica and percussive tambourine. 'Sloom' is another song worth a special mention – soft acoustic strumming and sombre melodic vocals, the song shines through lush male-female harmonies to beautifully wind down the album.
The whole album has a really organic feel – you can hear the drumsticks being picked up (or is it put down?) which gives already intimate songs an immediate quality. The sound is also organic in that it is refreshingly synth-free, a relative rarity on today's indie scene. I love buzzing electro-synth as much as the next kid, but what sets Of Monsters and Men apart is their old-school approach to songwriting.
This is old-fashioned folk music with a modern indie edge, unique vocals that get under your skin and enchanting stories from the land of the Wild Things that would make Maurice Sendak blush.
Rebecca McCann
The magical thing about My Head Is An Animal is that it opens strong, and continues to build upon itself without ever sliding into vanilla album-filler territory. 'Dirty Paws' is outstanding indie-folk that showcases the best of what you can expect from the Icelandic sextet. From its acoustic beginning with a harmonic male-female melody line playing in between a simple guitar riff, to a full band backing chanted vocals, the song takes on a stirring melodrama as it tells the story of “the beast with those four dirty paws”.
A steadily rollicking rhythm sweeps you into 'King and Lionheart', an uplifting testament to strength and courage with more whimsically enchanting lyrics. By the time you hit 'From Finner' you are well and truly under the spell of these troubadours. A highlight of the album, it's heavy on folk-influenced percussive sounds, the accordion lending it a gypsy quality.
'Little Talks' is the incredibly catchy tune that won them Iceland's battle of the bands competition, Músiktilraunir, and opens with triumphant trumpet and joyous chanting. As the song mellows out in the first verse, it builds towards a swollen, stirring finale, with accordion adding depth.
'Love Love Love' is a sweet ballad, an ode to lost love featuring sombre harmonica and percussive tambourine. 'Sloom' is another song worth a special mention – soft acoustic strumming and sombre melodic vocals, the song shines through lush male-female harmonies to beautifully wind down the album.
The whole album has a really organic feel – you can hear the drumsticks being picked up (or is it put down?) which gives already intimate songs an immediate quality. The sound is also organic in that it is refreshingly synth-free, a relative rarity on today's indie scene. I love buzzing electro-synth as much as the next kid, but what sets Of Monsters and Men apart is their old-school approach to songwriting.
This is old-fashioned folk music with a modern indie edge, unique vocals that get under your skin and enchanting stories from the land of the Wild Things that would make Maurice Sendak blush.
Rebecca McCann