Artist of the Week: Of Monsters and Men

Icelandic sensation Of Monsters and Men have accomplished years of success in a mere fifteen months. In just over a year the band has signed with a new label, released a hit album, toured internationally, appeared at numerous major festivals, had their single “Little Talks” named the Alternative Song Of The Year by iTunes UK, and received a European Border Breakers Award for 2013 to say the least.

The five-piece indie folk band is the one of the latest Icelandic imports to achieve wide success with the American public along the likes of Sigur Ros, Jónsi, and Björk. The band, fronted by co-singers Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, and Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson kickstarted their rise to fame when they won the annual Músíktilraunir battle of the bands in their home country.

The band’s debut album My Head Is an Animal was released under Record Records in 2011 to immediate success. My Head Is an Animal reached No. 6 on the US Billboard 200 album chart with “Little Talks” landed the No. 1 spot on the US Alternative Songs list.

Of Monsters and Men’s sound has been compared to groups like Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The band recently wrapped up a North American tour this fall and are finally taking a break. Hilmarsdóttir told Rolling Stone that she expects the band to expand and grow a lot with the next album. “There’s no way we can create an album like we did. It’s just the love child of that period because we were [just] forming,” Hilmarsdóttir said. “We are in a totally different mindset, a different place…which is not good or bad. It’s just different.”

By Jeeyoon Kim

If you liked this, check out:
This Week in Music History
Artist of the Week: Deer Tick