3/5 stars
Of Monsters And Men’s debut album My Head Is An Animal was released into a climate rife with commercial folk rock. Mumford & Sons had inundated the airwaves with Sigh No More and The Lumineers weren’t far behind with their ubiquitous hit ‘Ho Hey’.
More than three years later, the musical landscape has changed, with boy band pop and EDM bangers taking top spots on the charts. Fortunately, Of Monsters And Men have turned a blind eye to these changes, embracing bright sing-alongs and fairytale lyricism as wholeheartedly as they did the first time around. The result is an album that could be deemed predictable, but it’s predictable in the best sense of the word.
The band’s penchant for big-sounding folk rock immediately bares its teeth on opener and lead single, ‘Crystals’, which comprises gallant drum rolls, trumpet blasts and “woah-oh” choruses. These tendencies continue to show up all across the LP, as on the slow-building ‘Black Water’, which is sprinkled with driving piano. Like on the debut, the band’s lyrics depict the Icelandic landscape, referencing the sea and the snowy forests.
It’s pleasant stuff, but Of Monsters And Men would benefit from expanding beyond their almost formulaic tendencies and unveiling some panoramic folk rock.
Of Monsters And Me’s Beneath The Skin is available through Universal.
