Three years have passed since Of Monsters and Men released their debut album, My Head Is An Animal. A lot has changed in three years, and it is evident from their sophomore follow-up Beneath The Skin that they have changed as well.
The new album starts with “Crystals,” which is one of the best songs on the album. It has all the requirements that an Of Monsters and Men hit should have: the male and female duet, “oohs” and “aahs” to yell out, and a catchy chorus that gets stuck in your head.
But something seems different right away.The songs lack the playfulness and joy that echoed throughout their first album.
Once the standout song, “Empire,” plays through it’s easy to realize that the new Of Monsters and Men is still a great band, but they aren’t the same. The group chose to show a different, matured side of their music, and it pays off in a big way. This may seem like a toned down version of their former selves, but it feels denser and more emotional than the first time around. It’s not the easy-listening, loud sounds, and ridiculously catchy tunes anymore that gave Of Monsters and Men the popularity in the first place. This is a band that has chosen to focus on their emotional selves, delving within themselves to produce lyrics that have a deeper weight to them than before and a more somber tone to match.
Another change is in Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson, the lead singers. The primary vocal work has gone to Nanna, as Ragnar’s voice is strangely absent for most of the songs. Nanna picks up the mantle with ease, and shows that she has the vocal chops and the emotional range to carry the listener through every song. But don’t worry, the perfect harmonies between the two are still there and have never been better. “Hunger” shows both singers in top form, with their voices escalating into the breaking point of: “I’m drowning, I’m drowning” until Nanna takes over and mournfully repeats the same words once more with feeling.
In the back half of the album, the tempo slows down even more. “Black Water” and the previously released “I Of The Storm” are the most memorable here, but the other songs are easily forgettable. This is the only downfall; the first half of the album is flawless, and includes some of the band’s best songs yet, while the second half falters and fails to impress.
Staying in line with their previous releases, references to nature, animals, and many different forms of water are littered in every song, but it works. This is the typical Of Monsters and Men that people are used to, just in a new form. “And from the rain / Comes a river running / Wild that will create / An empire for you.”
Overall, Beneath the Skin is a worthy, albeit different follow-up to My Head Is An Animal that deals in more somber, slower tones. It’s still catchy, it’s still great to listen to, but it’s missing the variety that made their first album so lively and enjoyable.
The whole thing feels like the album cover: black and white. They lack the bright colors of their debut, and maybe that’s the point. They are different now, and there is no hiding it.
For more information about the band, check out their website.
