Fever Dream - Of Monsters And Men: Review
is an Icelandic indie band that skyrocketed to stardom around the world in 2011 when their mega-hit Little Talks took off and their debut album My Head Is An Animal went platinum later that same year. Despite being met with critical acclaim the band took four years to release a follow-up and by that time much of their initial hype had died down. Making this even more of a challenge to the band was that their second record Beneath The Skin was met with lukewarm critical reception. Now once again the band has taken four years between studio albums and have the opportunity to recover their reputation as an indie act of veteran status with two singles that were met positively leading up to this record.
Review By Lavender:
My Head Is An Animal sounded so exciting in 2011, there were huge walls of instrumentation that enveloped so much of the tame alternative rock and folk inspired indie that dropped around the time. Not only did Of Monsters And Men meet the signature indie sound with a youthful jest of experimentation, they also executed their fundamentals consistently and made a record that really stood out. I and many other critics were let down by the sophomore record from the band, as well as how long it took for a follow-up. The record had some explosive highlights especially its singles, but as a full length project there were some slow moments that weren't as fulfilling. Thankfully on Fever Dream there are plenty of worthwhile slower tunes, as well as some exciting busier tracks. While the album lacks the fresh sound of the groups debut it shows that they still have creativity left in their tank.
The lead single for Fever Dream is a fantastic song that did an excellent job building up hype for the record, and it serves as the opener. Alligator is a great punchy indie rock tune with huge percussion and an amazingly dramatic hook. It reminded me of everything that made me fall in love with the band in the first place and immediately got this new era off to an excellent start. The second single Wild Roses was the less exciting of the two. While I love the rattling percussion and huge keys hanging in the background the track is a by the numbers tune that sticks to its foundation and really doesn't do much to stand out. While it is far from a bad song as a single I would have liked for it to be a little bit more unique.
A lot of the time I'm really happy with Fever is when the band chooses to push the envelope and get creative with their sound. Waiting For The Snow is an excellent ballad that introduces some wintery keys and electronic vocal manipulation that helps it stand out as one of the sharpest tunes here. The way they work electronics into their sound is stylish and effective which is surprising coming from an indie band so often linked with the warm sounds of acoustic instrumentation. Under A Dome is probably my second favorite track in the entire mix as it blends together sounds that I wouldn't have expected to see on an Of Monsters And Men record. The track has a Slowdive-esque Shoegazey feel that I am absolutely in love with. The percussion is once again a huge highlight but on top of this is walls of distorted guitars and keys that make the song a pretty, dense and atmospheric cut that grows on me every time I hear it. Rororoi is another one of my favorite songs that features a killer performance from Nanna that swells and explodes into one of the best hooks on the entire record. The instrumentation takes a bakseat here with some rigid percussion and warm acoustic guitar plucks but it really didn't need to do anymore as the track is wonderful as it is.
While not every song here is perfect there are still plenty that are well worth your time even if they have flaws. A number of tracks including Vulture, Vulture and Stuck In Gravity have some epic moments, it just takes a while to get there. Vulture features buildup that is completely lacking in much of anything interesting, but once the song hits its high points it has a climactic and stunning finale over the last minute. Gravity is a little bit more tolerable in its buildup although I do feel like it goes on a little bit too long. Its final moments introduce some amazing keys and more booming punchy percussion in a climax that is well worthwhile.
Ahay is one of the tamest songs here and while I love Nanna's bridge in the latter half of the tune the songwriting here is just a little bit flat and I while there are bright spots in the instrumental I think it could have used some better mixing to turn a decent track into a potentially really exciting one. Wars is a track that sounds like it would fit in on Arcade Fire's The Suburbs but it never really hits quite as hard as a lot of Arcade Fire's tracks do.
The two tracks I can't really get behind come in the middle of the record and at the very end. Sleepwalker is a song that has a sleep joke involved somewhere but I can't really find it, the song is so dreadfully slow that even though there is a solid refrain or two here it isn't worth the waiting. Finally the closing song Soothsayer may be the biggest disappointment as it sees the band going for a contemporary rock sound and coming up short. Nanna's vocals don't lend themselves at all to a song that sounds like this and when the track goes for a loud quiet loud dynamic it is kind of undercut by the bombastic and garish mixing. The drums here sound closer to Imagine Dragons than Fleet Foxes and I wish this track hadn't been the closer as it really leaves the record off in the weakest moment.
Fever Dream likely won't re-establish Of Monsters And Men as a cutting edge or innovative indie band, and it probably won't turn many people who haven't enjoyed their previous work. But it is somewhat of a return to form that shows growth from their last record and hits a lot of the same notes that made their debut release one of the best indie projects in the early half of this decade. With catchy songwriting, excellent percussion throughout and an unmistakable sound the band has effectively weaved a comeback record that has me re-interested in what they will do next. 7/10
