ALBUM REVIEW: Of Monsters and Men

By Walker Kampf-Lassin TOP TRACK: "SIX WEEKS" BOTTOM TRACK: "FROM FINNER

In 2012, it’s hard for bands like Of Monsters and Men to achieve the recognition they deserve. Indie’s current obsession with electronic goth pop, along with its awkward. Yet unrelenting embrace of hip-hop leaves little room for a sound as organic as that presented on My Head Is An Animal. In many ways, the band took everything good about indie music in the mid-2000s—the interweaving duets of Stars, the dynamic horn arrangements of Beirut, the anthemic hooks of Arcade Fire—and added its own voice. The tone is honest and the efforts are concerted, particularly on standout songs like the somber “Love Love Love” and the celebratory “Six Weeks.” Of Monsters and Men is confident in their aesthetic, unwilling to give into what might be most fashionable at the moment. And to top it off, they hail from Iceland. Storming through the electronic musical landscape, Of Monsters and Men is armed with real instruments, beautiful melodies, adorable Icelandic accents, and, most importantly, nothing to prove.

4 Nancies