Of Monsters and Men

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Of Monsters and Men
Of Monsters and Men playing in New York City on 5 April 2012
Of Monsters and Men playing in New York City on 5 April 2012
Background information
OriginReykjavík, Iceland
Genres
Years active2010–present
LabelsRecord Records, Republic Records[6]
Websitewww.ofmonstersandmen.com
MembersNanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir
Ragnar Þórhallsson
Brynjar Leifsson
Kristján Páll Kristjánsson
Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson
Past membersÁrni Guðjónsson

Of Monsters and Men are an Icelandic[7] indie folk/rock band formed in Reykjavík in 2010. The members are lead singer and guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, singer and guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, lead guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson and bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson.[8][9] The band won the Músíktilraunir in 2010, an annual battle of the bands competition in Iceland.[10] In 2011, Of Monsters and Men released an EP titled Into the Woods. The band's 2011 debut album My Head Is an Animal, reached the No.1 position in Australia, Iceland, Ireland and the US Rock and Alternative charts, while peaking at No. 6 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, No. 3 in the UK, and Top 20 of most European charts and Canada. Its lead single "Little Talks" was an international success, reaching the Top 10 in most music charts in Europe, including No. 1 in Ireland and Iceland, and No. 1 on US Alternative Songs.

Of Monsters and Men won the 2013 European Border Breakers Awards.

History[]

Formation and early work (2009–2010)[]

The band's origins began in 2009 when Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir decided to add to her solo project, Songbird. Of Monsters and Men entered 2010's Músíktilraunir, an annual music competition held in Iceland, as a quartet with members Nanna (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Brynjar (electric guitar), Raggi (backing vocals, melodica, glockenspiel), and Arnar (backing vocals, melodica, glockenspiel, tambourine). Raggi came up with the band name, Of Monsters and Men, and everyone else liked it, so it stuck.[11]

Following Músiktilraunir, the quartet added two more members, Árni (accordion/keys, backing vocals) and Kristján (bass, backing vocals), and continued to tour venues in Iceland and work on new songs.[12] They were invited to perform at the 2010 Iceland Airwaves festival, and it is there that the Seattle-based radio station KEXP recorded the band performing "Little Talks" from a living room session.[13]

My Head Is an Animal (2011–2013)[]

Of Monsters and Men performing in October 2011.

The band signed with Record Records in February 2011 for the release of their debut album in Iceland.[14] In March 2011, they went to Studio Sýrland in Reykjavík to record and produce their debut album. In August 2011, Philadelphia's Radio 104.5 began playing "Little Talks" and propelled the band to nationwide popularity.[15] Their debut album My Head Is an Animal was released in Iceland in September 2011 with both it and "Little Talks" hitting No. 1.[8]

With success in Iceland and growing popularity in the United States, the band signed with Universal for a worldwide release of their debut album.[16] The band released its Into the Woods EP on 20 December 2011, which features four songs from their debut album, and later released My Head Is an Animal in the United States on 3 April 2012.[17]

The band performed at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, on 29 July 2012, Osheaga Festival in Montreal on 3 August 2012, and then at Lollapalooza in Chicago on 5 August 2012. They have toured in several European countries including Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden.[18] Of Monsters and Men also appeared 5 October 2012, on the new PBS music show Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders, performing "Mountain Sound".[19] Later Árni Guðjónsson left the band to go back to school.

Trumpeter Ragnhildur Gunnarsdóttir joined in the 2012 tour as a session player. The band has not commented on interest to eventually bring her into the band.[20]

The band performed "Little Talks" and "Mountain Sound" on Saturday Night Live on 4 May 2013,[21] and performed in the 1st Annual Boston Calling Music Festival on 26 May 2013.[22] The band also played T in the Park in July 2013, the biggest music festival in Scotland. They performed on both Lollapalooza Brazil and Chile. They also performed at Coachella, on 12 and 19 April 2013. On 26 January 2013, "Little Talks" was voted into the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2012 at number two, a prestigious musical honour in Australia. They appeared at Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, in June 2013 and played at The Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival in that same month. On 14 July 2013, the band performed in Optimus Alive! festival, in Lisbon, Portugal, one of the most popular festivals in Europe.

Their song "Dirty Paws", from which the title of the album originated, was featured in a trailer for the 2013 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the iPhone 5 introduction video released in September 2012.[23] They contributed the track "Silhouettes" to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack. Their song "Sinking Man" is featured on The Walking Dead: Original Soundtrack – Vol. 1.[24]

Beneath the Skin (2014–2018)[]

The band began working on a new album in August 2013.[25] In an interview published on 6 May 2014, Nanna stated that the album was forthcoming, but that the band had not decided on a release date yet. They officially began recording on 3 November 2014. At a listening session in February 2015, the band announced that their yet to be named second studio album would release later in the year.[26] The band posted a teaser video on their site for the album's first single, "Crystals".[27] It was released on 16 March 2015 along with the track list and other details about their upcoming album Beneath the Skin, set to be released on 8 June.[28] The album and single artwork was created by artist Leif Podhajsky.[29]

In May 2015, the band released dates for a tour to promote the up-coming album. The North American leg of the tour ran from 5 August 2015 to 17 October 2015.[30][31]

The track "Thousand Eyes" was featured heavily in the preseason advertising for the Marvel Netflix series Jessica Jones. The band appeared in a cameo on the episodes "The Door" and "Blood of My Blood" of Game of Thrones as stage musicians.[32]

The band is included on Coachella's 2016 line-up.

In November 2016, their cover of "Eleanor Rigby" was the feature of episode 21b of Beat Bugs.

On 21 May 2017, Of Monsters and Men posted a picture on their Instagram account with the caption "Album 3. Let's do this!!!"

In October 2017, it was announced that the band had hit one billion streams on Spotify, becoming the first Icelandic band to do so.[33]

Fever Dream (2019–present)[]

On 2 May 2019, the band released "Alligator", the first single from their third album Fever Dream, released on 26 July.[34] On 11 July 2019, the band released the track "Wild Roses". On 26 July 2019, the band released the single, "Wars", as a lyric video on their YouTube channel along with their entire album.

On 9 September 2020, the band unveiled a single titled "Visitor".

On 8 April 2021, the band released a single titled "Destroyer".

Band members[]

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
AUS
[35]
AUT
[36]
BEL
[37]
CAN
[38]
FRA
[39]
GER
[40]
IRE
[41]
NL
[42]
NZ
[43]
SWI
[44]
UK
[45]
US
[38]
My Head Is an Animal 1 17 14 4 55 4 1 5 4 29 3 6
Beneath the Skin
  • Released: 8 June 2015 (Iceland)
    9 June 2015 (Elsewhere)
  • Label: Republic
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
4 20 23 1 62 10 3 17 10 6 10 3
Fever Dream
  • Released: 26 July 2019[53]
  • Label: Republic
  • Formats: CD, digital download
21 55 81 2 132 29 13 15 9
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live albums[]

Title Details
Live from Vatnagarðar
  • Released: 10 December 2013
  • Label: Republic
  • Format: Digital download

Extended plays[]

Title Details Peak chart positions
US
[38]
US
Alt.

[38]
Into the Woods
  • Released: 20 December 2011 (United States)
  • Label: Republic
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
108 18

Singles[]

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
AUS
[35]
BEL
[37]
CAN
[38]
GER
[40]
IRE
[54]
NZ
[43]
SWI
[44]
UK
[45]
US
[38]
US
Rock

[55]
"Little Talks" 2011 7 3 55 5 1 4 24 12 20 3 My Head Is an Animal
"Mountain Sound" 2012 29 [A] 69 28 22 66 [B] 14
"Dirty Paws" 2013 35 75 [C] 24
"King and Lionheart" 28
"Crystals" 2015 94 [D] 84 12 Beneath the Skin
"I of the Storm" 28
"Empire" [E]
"Hunger" 26
"Wolves Without Teeth" 2016 [F]
"Alligator" 2019 [G] 8 Fever Dream
"Wild Roses" 38
"Wars" 34
"Visitor" 2020 48 TBA
"Destroyer" 2021 [H]
"—" denotes singles that were not released, or did not chart.

Other appearances[]

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CAN
[38]
US
Alt.
Dig.

[73]
US
Rock

[55]
"Silhouettes" 2013 [I] 14 26 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
"Sinking Man" The Walking Dead (AMC's Original Soundtrack), Vol. 1
"Thousand Eyes" 2015 Jessica Jones, Beneath the Skin
"—" denotes songs that were not released, or did not chart.

Notes[]

  1. ^ "Mountain Sound" did not enter the Ultratop 50, but peaked at number three on the Flemish Ultratip chart.[37]
  2. ^ "Mountain Sound" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number three on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[62]
  3. ^ "Dirty Paws" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 86 on the UK Streaming Chart.[67]
  4. ^ "Crystals" did not enter the Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 75 on the Flemish Ultratip chart.[37]
  5. ^ "Empire" did not enter the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, but peaked at number 33 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart.[71]
  6. ^ "Wolves Without Teeth" did not enter the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, but peaked at number 49 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart.[71]
  7. ^ "Alligator" did not enter the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, but peaked at number 50 on the Canadian Digital Song Sales chart.[72]
  8. ^ "Destroyer" did not enter the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, but peaked at number 24 on the Alternative Digital Song Sales chart.[73]
  9. ^ "Silhouettes" did not enter the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, but peaked at number 61 on the Canadian Digital Song Sales chart.[72]

Music videos[]

Title Year Director Ref.
"Little Talks" 2012 WeWereMonkeys [74]
"Mountain Sound" Un­known
"King And Lionheart" 2013 WeWereMonkeys [75]
"Crystals" 2015 Arni and Kinski [76]
"Empire" Tabitha Denholm [77]
"Wolves Without Teeth" 2016 Magnús Leifsson [78]
"Alligator" 2019 Shih-Ting Hung [79]
"Wild Roses" Thora Hilmarsdottir [80]
"Wars" WeWereMonkeys [81]
"Visitor" 2020 Thora Hilmarsdottir [82]

Accolades[]

Year Organization Nominated work Award Result
2012 MTV Video Music Awards "Little Talks" Best Art Direction Nominated
MTV Europe Music Awards Of Monsters and Men Best Push Act Nominated
2013 ECHO Awards My Head Is an Animal Best International Newcomer Nominated
Best International Rock/Pop Group Nominated
Juno Awards "Little Talks" Video of the Year Nominated
Billboard Music Awards My Head Is an Animal Top Rock Album Nominated
EBBA Awards European Border Breakers Award Won

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