OF MONSTERS AND MEN: Fever Dream (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

After “Beneath The Skin”, whose content was a little too conventional, you'd have thought Of Monsters And Men were reluctant to renew themselves and prisoners of a style they almost invented. This was without counting on their singer, Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, who, aware that she was going round in circles, swapped her acoustic guitar for a laptop while writing the album. From this discovery of new sounds and infinite possibilities for conveying emotions came eleven tracks forming a more pop and less predictable whole, which the band entitled “Fever Dream”.

Without totally denying its origins, Of Monsters And Men moves away from them by adopting an approach focused on synthesizers and electronic effects. While opener 'Alligator', a highly electric and jarring track in the band's discography, shows a desire to break away from previous productions by hardening the subject matter, the following songs, with their gentleness and harmonies, are closer to Of Monsters And Men's preferred style. Such is the case with the gentle, languorous 'Ahay', the excellent 'Rororo', on which Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir shines, and the hushed 'Waiting' For The Snow', with its evanescent piano.

Far from lulling us to sleep, the band then offers us three energetic tracks (everything is relative), 'Vulture, Vulture' and 'Wild Roses', which once again showcase Of Monsters And Men's talent for offering shimmering, immediate refrains, as well as the surprising 'Wars', almost dancefloor-like with its omnipresent bass. A few less striking but not uninteresting tracks (such as the pop 'Soothsayer') complete an already delightful whole.

Behind the synthetic wrapping, which may give the impression of dealing with a new band, the usual melodic and even rhythmic aspects of the band remain clearly recognizable. The solo and duet vocals are as polished as ever, blending power and fragility, while the lyrics delve into more personal, introspective territory, exploring themes of self-discovery, relationships and the complexities of the human experience. Of Monsters Of Men have begun their moult in this “Fever Dream”, and so much the better, as the result is so successful. - Official website

OF MONSTERS AND MEN

FEVER DREAM

AUTRE LABEL

ROCK