Of Monsters and Men

by  Alex Tabarrok in

My favorite album of 2012 is My Head is an Animal (MP3 album just $3.99!) by the Icelandic group Of Monsters and Men–they mine the same vein as Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes.

Hat tip: Paul Krugman.

Comments

Ray Lopez

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It would have sounded better IMO in their native language, like Oppa Gangnam Style. I like this Iceland parody (apparently? I don't think they are serious) of an Iceland political campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxBW4mPzv6E ( "We are the best" - Video from the Best party - Jon Gnarr Mayor of Reykjavik 2010 - cover to Tina Turner's Simply The Best with Icelandic lyrics).

Lord

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Imagine Dragons

Jason

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I wonder if you said Of Monsters and Men but really meant The Lumineers? They both have songs with background "hey"s sung throughout the song, but The Lumineers are much more like Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes (with a good measure of Mumford & Sons and The Civil Wars thrown in, and even some Desire-sounding Dylan can be detected too). Of Monsters and Men is Foster the People of 2012.

Dave T

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A good one for sure, but my favorite this year was The Shin's Port of Morrow.

Gabriel E

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Alex, you might enjoy Shovels and Rope. My favorite new band of 2012:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKIegJH7Mdc

Alex Tabarrok

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Thanks!

vanderleun

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No soul. No real sense of rhythm. Janis Joplin wannabe trying to hold down the center. Plodding arrangement. A group dedicated to rock as a sequence of "post-mortum" effects. These kids will be forgotten before they are out of their 20s.

Rich Berger

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Now that's a white group.

William Rinehart

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Is there a good theory on why Iceland has so much music talent? Mum, Bjork, FM Belfast, Johann Johannsson, Olafur Arnalds, Sigur Ros, Seabear, Valgeir Sigurðsson all come to mind.

Bjartur

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And Mugison, don't forget Mugison...

rpenm

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Reminds me more of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros than Arcade Fire. "Little Talks" mirrors the structure of "Home" quite closely.

Jeff L.

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Yes, the song is sort of a shameless rip off of “Home”. All this is ironic as Edward Sharpe sort of bumbled along to find a sound to match the current sonic zeitgeist (anyone remember Ima Robot?), much as Of Monster and Men was packaged (created?) to ride the boomlet of bands that use a male and female singer, multiple eclectic instruments, and quirky shouts mid chorus to celebrate lyrical acheivements that in fact have not been made. Also, hats.

They sound nothing like Fleet Foxes.

Alex...there is so much good music out there. Why?

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