music, shmusic

My Head Is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men

1. Dirty Paws

2. King and Lionheart

3. Numb Bears

4. Sloom

5. Little Talks

6. From Finner

7. Six Weeks

8. Love Love Love

9. Your Bones

10. Lakehouse

11. Yellow Light

Of Monsters and Men are a six member band from Iceland. A few months ago i came across them and fell in love with their EP 'Into the Woods'. I was pretty bummed to find out that their album, 'My Head Is an Animal' was already released overseas, but i would have to wait another couple months. Well today is the day! [:
They've already received a lot of attention in their native land; climbing to the top of the charts with, "Little Talks". It's this same track that has brought them over to the states garnering the same kind of attention and praise. They released, 'Into the Woods' in Decemeber and since then have taken off even playing SXSW this year.  What initially drew me into these songs, and what kept the EP on repeat for weeks, was Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir's vocals on the track, 'Love Love Love'. It's a fairly simple song, but she delivers it so beautifully and full of emotion. "cause you love, love, love when you know I can't love."

My favorite track on 'Animals' is "Dirty Paws". Mostly due to how well Nanna's voice blends with Monster's other vocalist Ragnar þórhallsson. The song also delivers some gang vocals (group vocals?) resembling an Edward Sharpe anthem. "Dirty Paws" hit me the hardest, but throughout the entire album Nanna and Ragnar go back and forth complimenting each other vocally; at some points it seems they've created an entirely new voice. I love the energy of this album, the songwriting; it's a solid album and i feel like if i try and talk about it anymore i'll stop making sense. [: I think you get the point the album is good and you should check it out. NPR is streaming the album and i'm sure it'll hit spotify pretty fast. Here's the video for 'Little Talks'...

Family by Noah Gundersen 

1. David

2. Fire

3. Nashville

4. San Antonio Fading

5. Honest Songs

6. Garden

7. Family

Noah Gundersen is a new find for me; like last week new. [: I was browsing through spotify and it was the cover art that first caught my attention. I always secretly hope that when an artist or band have good cover art or photography that they will be really good. There's something about the whole package ya know? I was super super glad that whoever chose this photo for the cover of his EP 'Family' chose it because it's what made me stop and listen; so thankful i did.
'Family' came out in August of 2011 and it starts off with 'David' and I was ready to hear it again even before it finished. Throughout the EP I heard elements of Andy Hull, Ryan Adams and even a little David Gray, especially on the second track, 'Fire'. His sister Abby lends her violin and harmonies on a couple tracks adding a very pretty element to mostly guitar driven tracks. On Noah's bandcamp site there's a couple paragraphs about the EP and his desire to "pay homage to the people who have shaped his life." "Family comes in many forms," says Noah. "It lives with us, for better and for worse. It shapes us. Thats what this album is about." He succeeds in delivering an EP with a strong sense of nostalgia; it left me wanting the rest of the story. I've enjoyed listening to the stories he tells on 'Family' and i'm excited about hearing more soon.

I'll leave you with this video of Noah singing with his siblings.

I'm hoping these posts have made sense... as i'm sure you've already noticed i'm not the best writer, i'm just really good at listening to music. I'm hoping that the stuff i take in from all this music will traslate well into words for you to read. 

Anyway... what are you listening to today? Please share!

Xx christine