Of Monsters and Men – My Head Is An Animal

by Shea Geyer (Pharmacy), published April 10th 2012

Moldy | Stale | Edible | Fresh | Tasty!

Album of the year.  Hands down.  Iceland’s Of Monsters and Men’s debut album My Head Is An Animal has finally dropped stateside and it has been on repeat on my iPod, Spotify and iTunes all week long.  Am I sick of it yet?  Nope.  With every listen, I only love the album even more.  Of Monsters and Men have an Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros-esque style to their songs, especially  in “Little Talks.”  Don’t let the resemblance fool you though; Of Monsters and Men have their own sound that is a breath of fresh air in our current borderline stale music scene.   The male/female duets and the jubilant “heys” and “la-la-las” make the album engaging, along with the switch-up in tempo of their songs.

“Little Talks” has made its way to the radio waves and is definitely the better known song off of the album due to the release of the Into The Woods EP back in December, which included three other songs off of My Head Is An Animal.  Upon listening to the  rest of the album, there is not one song that I can’t help singing along to and hitting the repeat button immediately after.  “Dirty Paws” starts the album off with a somber, yet powerful tone with guitars, drums, bass and piano, and is backed with the usual “heys” and “la-la-las.”  ”Mountain Sound” is a swinging, upbeat tune that has the feel of having a grand ol’ time on a summer night with all of your friends.

Of Monsters and Men slow it down with “Love Love Love,” an acoustic ballad that almost sounds like Kate Nash dealing with another disintegrating relationship.  ”Slow and Steady” is another painfully beautiful ballad, exemplifying the power of the male/female vocal duet to add layers of emotion to a song.  The hand-clapping, toe-tapping acoustic number, “Sloom,” has a hint of country twang to it and simple lyrics, making it a fun sing-along for around the camp fire this summer.

I can continue to rave about this album, but that would take up your precious time to go purchase My Head Is An Animal and listen to the album in its entirety without any distractions.  This is the end of the article, go forth and seek Of Monsters and Men.  Now.

Recommended Tracks: Little Talks, Six Weeks, From Finner

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