Of Monsters and Men have been one of my favorite groups for a couple of years now. I loved their 2011 album, My Head Is An Animal, an album that presented a cool approach to indie pop with jangly acoustic guitars and lyrics that seemed to tell miniature fairytales. Listen to a song like "Dirty Paws" and tell me it doesn't sound like a fairytale! Either way, My Head Is An Animal is still a favorite album of mine to listen to.
I also had the opportunity to see Of Monsters and Men at the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. They played on Friday afternoon of that year, and it remains one of my favorite shows that I've seen at the festival. But I digress.
Quite a lot of time passed between the release of My Head Is An Animal and the announcement of this new album, Beneath the Skin. I'd heard various rumors and such of the album, such as hearing that the band was planning on changing up its sound for the next album by adding synths and electric guitars. When I finally saw the announcement that the band were planning on releasing their sophomore effort in 2015, I was beyond ecstatic. This has already been a blockbuster year for new albums, and Of Monsters and Men releasing an album has only served to add to the mayhem.
The band released its first single, "Crystals", earlier this year. It was a single that, while I like it a lot now, it took a while to grow on me. Maybe it was the lyric video that did it for me; it was kind of endearing seeing the old man (whom I later learned is actually a very famous TV and movie actor in Iceland) lip-syncing to the lyrics of the song.
While Of Monsters and Men don't make every song a carbon copy of that first single, most of the following songs sound pretty close to it. The band relies on grandiose arrangements rather than the subtlety that made their debut so great, and they do this on every song. I like that they expanded their sound to include electric guitars and synths, but I wish they'd included a little more variety.
I wish I had more to say about this album. I really do. It's not bad by any stretch, but it's not amazing either. Still, I can't help but be happy that one of my favorite indie pop groups is back with another album. I can't wait until they're hitting the festival circuits again next year (Bonnaroo, please?), and while I didn't like this as much as their debut, I can still see myself revisiting it from time to time.
Conclusion: While Of Monsters and Men's sophomore effort doesn't vary a whole lot, it's still a highly enjoyable album that'll still please fans of the band. So enjoyable, in fact, that I will probably revisit it in the future just to listen to.
Overall: 6.5/10
Favorite tracks: Crystals; Human; Empire; Organs
Quite a lot of time passed between the release of My Head Is An Animal and the announcement of this new album, Beneath the Skin. I'd heard various rumors and such of the album, such as hearing that the band was planning on changing up its sound for the next album by adding synths and electric guitars. When I finally saw the announcement that the band were planning on releasing their sophomore effort in 2015, I was beyond ecstatic. This has already been a blockbuster year for new albums, and Of Monsters and Men releasing an album has only served to add to the mayhem.
The band released its first single, "Crystals", earlier this year. It was a single that, while I like it a lot now, it took a while to grow on me. Maybe it was the lyric video that did it for me; it was kind of endearing seeing the old man (whom I later learned is actually a very famous TV and movie actor in Iceland) lip-syncing to the lyrics of the song.
While Of Monsters and Men don't make every song a carbon copy of that first single, most of the following songs sound pretty close to it. The band relies on grandiose arrangements rather than the subtlety that made their debut so great, and they do this on every song. I like that they expanded their sound to include electric guitars and synths, but I wish they'd included a little more variety.
I wish I had more to say about this album. I really do. It's not bad by any stretch, but it's not amazing either. Still, I can't help but be happy that one of my favorite indie pop groups is back with another album. I can't wait until they're hitting the festival circuits again next year (Bonnaroo, please?), and while I didn't like this as much as their debut, I can still see myself revisiting it from time to time.
Conclusion: While Of Monsters and Men's sophomore effort doesn't vary a whole lot, it's still a highly enjoyable album that'll still please fans of the band. So enjoyable, in fact, that I will probably revisit it in the future just to listen to.
Overall: 6.5/10
Favorite tracks: Crystals; Human; Empire; Organs