Icelandic music to me makes me think of Bjork first and foremost. You can hear hints of Bjork in the group’s music especially from Nanna whose overall annunciation and tone remind me of her. The male vocalist Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson’s voice took a little bit of getting used to for me, but it definitely grew on me after repeat listens. The songs all seem to be about nature and mystical fantasy worlds which for me is a nice getaway for my thoughts to take me to a more serene place. There have been comparisons for the group to such bands as Arcade Fire, and Mumford & Sons. I by no means find the band to be extremely unique, they do however meet a lot of the criteria I look for in a group, and kind of fill my folk void until Fleet Foxes come out with another album. I think you will all really enjoy parts of this album and I can hopefully make some of you fans just like me. Here’s hoping they go on to big success and put out many more albums to come.
I also posted a video of their song "Little Talks" live. To me they sound awesome, and it only makes me want to see them in concert all the more.
Anytime I see that a band hails from Iceland I immediately think of the magestic, sweeping music of Sigur Ros and Bjork; it is unfair, but it the instant association that I make. Needless to say, I was thrown by the sound of OMAM as they didn't take on the traits of either one of those artists. This week was interesting because I wasn't necessarily swayed dramatically one way or the other with this album, which will probably make for a pretty boring write-up, but here we go.
ReplyDeleteAfter the first listen, I get the Mumford & Sons and Arcade Fire comparisons, the bad thing is they come off as a very generic hybrid of both. Opening tracks "Dirty Paws" and "King and Lionheart" are fine but they feel uninspired; they almost seem like the same song. I listen to A LOT of music so I am looking for something that stands out, and after listening to all 12 tracks on this album, there was zero risk taking (which is why this band will probably do well with the masses). "Mountain Sound" is a great example of their Arcade Fire influence but their storytelling rings hollow. Talking about running to heaven and the others they saw there had scars and scratches, but they didn't. I'm not sure what they're trying to convey with that because the rest of the song is just the heavily repeated chorus?
"From Finner" is the first track that does something for me. Nanna's voice is golden and the sea ferring sound breaks up the monotony that had built to this point. "Little Talks" is executed nicely with Nanna and Raggi performing an effortless give and take with the vocal duties; there's an infectious energy that draws me in with this track that was heightened with the acoustic performance that I watched above.
As I mentioned at the beginning of my post, the musicianship and singing are perfectly fine with this group. I feel there is a lack of creativity and true inspiration, which is why I am left unmoved by most of what I heard.
Favorite Tracks:
Little Talks
Lakehouse
From Finner
I had not heard of ‘Of Monsters and Men’ prior to a few weeks ago. Then I heard Madden singing ‘Lion Heart’ and asked Beth what song he was singing. She was very excited to announce the group she discovered and had been listening to all day. After listening to ‘My Head is an Animal’ (MHA), I can certainly understand the appeal to her.
ReplyDeleteThe sound is kinda folky, but also has influences from the National and fellow countrylady Bjork. The reviews continuously compare them to Mumford & Sons, so between those three Music Togetherness artists, I have a feeling this week will go well for the group.
The two vocalists have quite a bit of chemistry and do a very good job of sharing the spotlight. Some groups, like the Goo Goo Dolls will just dedicate an entire song to one of the two vocalists and often disappoints in regards to balance. Linkin Park is another example where Chester and Mike were incredible when they would share the vocals in their first two efforts. Their last few, notably their last, has been very disappointing as everything is moving toward Chester’s ballads and they feel they need to squeeze a couple hard rap songs for Mike. At that point, it just feels forced. So the point is, everything on MHA sounds like what the artists want and not what they think the public wants.
‘Dirty Paws’ and ‘King and Lionheart’ are amongst my favorites on the album. Part of the appeal to me is it sounds like a J.R. Tolkien book out on tape based on all the fantasy and war related lyrics. In addition, I really like Nanna’s vocals, and surprisingly like the calmness of the two tracks. ‘Mountain Sound’ is my least favorite track on the album. The more upbeat tempo does not do well for Nanna’s vocals as they sound strained and actually irritate me. This is not the case on ‘Little Talks’ as the tempo is upbeat, but Nanna’s vocals are not trying to keep up. I think the horn section and glockenspiel (?) help this track stand out. ‘Six Weeks’ sounds like a Fleet Foxes song to me. Ragnar’s voice works well on his own, but there are instances where he kind of sounds like Marianne Faithful voice at the end of Metallica’s ‘The Memory Remains’. ‘Love, Love, Love’ is the primary cause of my Bjork reference. This is the song I would most want to see live. If Nanna can put the same level of emotion into a live performance, I can see this touching a nerve with me and probably most others. You could convince me I was listening to Fleet Foxes for the first 50 seconds of ‘Your Bones’. This was the first track I really appreciated the drums and the bass guitar as standouts. This was the most complete song for me between the all members of the band. Throw in a sing-a-long chorus and this gets my nod for favorite track on the album. If ‘Lakehouse’ were on their next album, I would probably likeit more. The problem for me is this is the third time they’ve used ‘Lalalalala’ for a chorus on the same album. They’ve shown they have quite a bit of creativity and chemistry, I hope they didn’t use all of their magic on one album and are officially out of ideas.
Great find and pick, I look forward to this being added to our Alton Trip playlist.
Favorites were ‘Your Bones’, ‘Love, Love, Love’, and ‘Dirty Paws’.
Whenever I was listening to this album, I just couldn't get away from the fact that it was like listening to an Arcade Fire retread. The problem is, that sort of thing was really prevalent about 5 or 6 years ago, and has been done to death already. In order to get away with it, there needs to be some unique lyrical content, such as in the case of the band Wolf Parade, and the first Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album. I just don't hear anything unique here, with the abundance of fairy tale lyrics.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I'm still sometimes a sucker for a nice sounding song, lyrical value or no, and there are definitely a few of them here. Nanna's voice on "Slow and Steady" is really strong, especially on the chorus, and it kicks off the strongest three-song section of the album. Instrumentally, "From Finner" is very well done, and on an album which generally has very little to say, I don't mind a "la la la" chorus at all, and I think it works pretty well here....the "hey hey" section does bite Arcade Fire too hard, though, and is kind of off-putting when the next song starts with the same thing.
Speaking of the next song, however, "Little Talks" is the star of the show. The horn section is triumphant throughout the song, creating an upbeat feeling, that is instantly countered by the lyrics. I know Thomas had a problem with this kind of thing on the Neutral Milk Hotel album, but I enjoy instrumental irony in a depressing song sometimes....I don't think a musician necessarily always needs to hit you over the head with a negative emotion.
I would certainly never say that I hate this album, nor even that I dislike it at all. I guess I've just heard all of these elements before, and there isn't anything setting the band apart from their contemporaries, especially since those contemporaries began doing it much earlier. There has been a lot of original music that has come out of Iceland in the last two decades, notably by Bjork, Sigur Ros, and Johann Johannsson, so I won't completely write this guys off, and will listen for their next album to see if they've come into their own a little more.
My favorite tracks were:
Delete1. Little Talks
2. Slow and Steady
3. From Finner
I listened to this week's assignment mostly while multitasking and doing other things, so I'm going to have to comment on it more as a whole than on the individual tracks. I consistently heard the similarities to the Arcade Fire, but I don't know truthfully if I get the Mumford and Sons references. The male singer's voice is similar to their vocalists, but the comparison for me ends there. I am, however, surprised that no one has drawn any comparisons to Florence and the Machine - because even moreso than Bjork, the female vocalist is a dead ringer for Florence Welch. (I chose their album "Lungs" during the time when Music Togetherness was first out of rotation, so I might have to choose it again, officially this time.)
ReplyDeleteI liked that most of the tunes were upbeat and I enjoyed her voice, although I'm used to hearing them against music that sounds much "bigger" (in the sense that F&tM uses a lot of orchestral sounding "big" instruments in their arrangements). It was different, but not bad different.
In general, I enjoyed this week's pick, but I could still use some more time to see how it grows on me. I think I need to be able to separate it more from the comparisons to see how I enjoy them as musicians at their core. I'm probably just going to keep it in my queue and see what ends up happening. I could totally see myself listening to this at work for a little distraction from the daily grind. I'm just not quite sure I'm ready to take it on a roadtrip or out running.
Thanks for the video post Beth! Sometimes it helps me too to be able to see the band performing. :)
Tracks o' the Week:
Delete1. Mountain Sound (the tune sounds SO familiar but I can't figure out why...)
2. Little Talks
3. King and Lionheart
P.S. I'm sorry my review is very uninspiring this week (and it's late on top of that). My brain is fried :( Things are in the homestretch at work - the end of a stressful and busy semester. Thank God Commencement is this week.
I appreciate everyone's write up, and I have to admit the fact that while this band draws off of other bands, I prefer their sound more. I admit I have never been a big fan of Arcade Fire, but I love this album. So maybe by being inspired by a band such as them, they did something ultimately different that made them more of a standout to someone like me. My favorite tracks are:
ReplyDelete1) Little Talks
2) King and Lionheart
3) From Finner