Of Monsters and Men Biography, Songs, & Albums |

Of Monsters and Men is a band from Iceland that has been gaining popularity in recent years. The band formed in 2010, and their members are singer-songwriter Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, bassist Georg Holm Jonsson, keyboardist Jonatan Aðalsteins Þorsteinsson, drummer Karl Einar Gunnarsson.

Of Monsters and Men is a band from Iceland. The group has released 4 albums and 2 singles to date. Little Talks is the title of one of their songs on their debut album, My Head Is An Animal.

With a rousing take on chamber pop that mirrored Arcade Fire and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, Icelandic rock band Of Monsters and Men burst into the worldwide music scene in the early 2010s. Their breakthrough hit “Little Talks” reached the top of the charts all over the globe, and their first album, My Head Is an Animal, was certified multi-platinum.

Beneath the Skin, their introspective sophomore album released in 2015, produced the minor success “Crystals” and reached number three in the United States. After a long hiatus from recording, they returned in 2019 with the re-energized, synth-heavy Fever Dream.

Nanna Brynds Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar órhallsson, singers/guitarists, guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, keyboardist rni Gujónsson, bass player Kristján Páll Kristjánsson, and drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson formed Of Monsters and Men in 2009. The group rose quickly, winning Musiktilraunir, Iceland’s national Battle of the Bands competition, only a year after forming.

By 2011, Rolling Stone magazine had already dubbed them “the next Arcade Fire.” My Head Is an Animal, their first album, was published by Record Records in Iceland in the autumn of 2011. The band joined with Universal Music Group after its catchy debut song, “Little Talks,” became a global hit. Soon after, they released an EP called Into the Woods, followed by an international release of their debut in 2012 with a slightly altered track list.

The album was a worldwide success, charting in Western Europe and Australasia and reaching number six on the Billboard 200 in the United States. Tours and major festival performances followed, including Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Boston Calling, and Glastonbury, as well as television appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in the United States a month after the album’s release and The Graham Norton Show in the United Kingdom later that year.

Gujónsson departed the band around this time, and the quintet earned a coveted slot on Saturday Night Live in the spring of 2013. The group started production on their second album the same year, with their song “Silhouettes” appearing on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Beneath the Skin was co-produced by Rich Costey (Interpol, Muse, Kimbra) and recorded in Iceland and Los Angeles in 2014 and early 2015, peaking at number three on the Billboard charts. The band continued to promote the album throughout 2016 before returning to the studio in 2017 to begin work on their third album.

Of Monsters and Men returned in 2019 with “Alligator,” an arena-sized rocker off their third album, Fever Dream, which was released in July of that year. The bright set absorbed synthesizers and pop flourishes, marking a change from their earlier folk-indebted sound. It was produced by Rich Costey (Muse, Sigur Rós). In 2024, “Destroyer,” a non-album tune, was released.

of monsters and men genre is a band that has been around since 2009. They are from Iceland, and their music is folk-inspired.