My Head Is An Animal by Of Monsters and Men

With Mumford and Sons breaking the way we are now seeing a great influx of bands with the Mumford sound. For those of us who like this sort of music this is a very good thing. One of the best bands to surface in the last year is Of Monsters and Men.

This band features the same type of backbeat, orchestration and such but also features a female singer which adds a different dimension. Their success has been significant with a single that went large in the the Top 40, and as to alternative radio, college radio, and even AOR radion they have had even greater success with many of their songs from the album being featured.

The first song on the album is called Dirty Paws and it is one of the more original things you will hear. " And once there was an animal, it had a son that mowed the lawn, the son was on Ok guy, they had a pet dragonfly." That, if nothing else, is one of the more original lyrics you will hear. And it works.

Lionheart and Mountain Song are the next two tracks on the album. The latter has been quite successful but for me the former is the better song. Mountain Song is very catchy though, you have to tap your foot, and the call and response between the female singer and the band is certainly effective.

This band with both female and male co singers, coming from Iceland, is certainly one of the great new sounds I have heard recently. Their first single Little Talks was an international hit and first gained them all the notice that has followed. With an enormously catchy beat, with a driving backing track and then we hear the call and response singing of both the singers the song is about as catchy a single as you will hear these days. Even a little big band sound behind the normal rock guitars.

I liked this album very much. I do not know what the shelf life is. With this sound now moving into the overexposed zone one has to wonder how long it will last. The Lumineers are fun, for example, but one has to assume that when the music business moves onto the next new sound that only a few will survive. This band might not be one of those that do. For now though this is a very good album.