Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.12.2012, Side 26

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The World Is Full Of Monsters Of Monsters
and Men have changed the global face of
Icelandic music. So what happens next?
Perhaps it's not worth questioning
how this happened. After all, my first
exposure to the band reveals its im-
mediate impact. It was at Airwaves in
2011, and I walked in to NASA on the
second-to-last song of their set. It was
after midnight, I was exhausted, and
I hadn't slept since leaving New York
the night before. And yet, it only took
about two minutes to catch on to how
instantly irresistible this music was.
A song and a half later, I was sold. It
didn't take much.
So the fact that this same phenom-
enon replicated so quickly as more
people heard the music isn't that sur-
prising. Plus, not only did they have
the tunes, but they also had a major
label backing them almost from the
outset. What is a bit odd, however, is
the way they seemed to have skipped
the usual path to this level of success,
which involves winning over a small,
devoted fanbase of hardcore music
lovers, and then growing beyond that
as word spreads.
Instead, Of Monsters and Men
seem almost to have emerged as
a fully formed headlining act, ap-
pealing to the broadest of audi-
ences, most of whom had no idea
who they were a year ago—most of
whom don’t seem to have an idea
where Iceland even is—and who are
now hanging on every word of every
song. At least, as far as the sing-
alongs and singles go.
Teenagers, Wall Street types,
a bevy of bros
When the band recently returned to
NYC, it was already playing at one of
the city's largest venues, Terminal 5.
Not only that, but it had sold out two
nights in a row there. Of course, this
is a venue frowned upon by many se-
rious music lovers, mostly because
of the type of crowd it tends to bring
out—teenagers, Wall Street types, a
bevy of bros—the type of person who
waits for the music to come to them,
rather than actively seeking it out.
Then again, without appealing
to this crowd, there's only so big a
band can get. It's casual music fans
that drive the market, and as long as
you're making the music you love,
you can't control who listens to it.
The real problem with going from
an unknown band to a band of this
status so quickly is that you end up
bypassing the stage where you build
up serious cred on the way. It makes
it far too easy to fall really far, really
fast, when your main support sys-
tem is built on people who will have
moved on to the next radio-friendly
band long before your second album
even comes out.

A less foreboding Iceland?
I spoke to a concertgoer, Weezie
Yancey-Siegel, about the first of the
two NYC shows, which was also her
first time seeing the band. "I think
the fact that they're Icelandic is very
intriguing to their fans in the US,"
she said. "I heard a lot of the crowd
talking about the fact that the band is
Icelandic and how much they wanted
to go to Iceland. My own brother, who
attended the concert with me, is ac-
tually planning on going to Iceland
during his gap year in the spring, be-
cause he was inspired by Of Monsters
and Men and other Icelandic bands
like Sigur Rós."
Which is an interesting point.
Because while Sigur Rós and Björk
have represented Icelandic music on
a global scale for so long, neither one
has ever been populist by nature, pre-
ferring to put art above all else. Per-
haps with Of Monsters and Men will-
ingly creating music for the masses
instead, it will help to change percep-
tions of what Iceland is to the rest
of the world—to make it seem more
welcoming, more open, less forebod-
ing. Which, in turn, could continue
to open the door for more Icelandic
acts overseas.
Iceland represent
It's worth noting that the band has
been bringing other Icelandic acts on
tour with it as well. Last time it was
in the states, Lay Low was in tow, and
this time it's Sóley. It might be a bit
misguided, as audiences hungry for
Of Monsters and Men's boisterous
sound frequently become impatient
with more mellow, introspective open-
ers, but it doesn't mean their inten-
tions aren't good.
"The drum set actually had an
Icelandic f lag on it," said Weezie, "so
I had the impression that they were
proud of where they were from and of
representing the music scene there.
Where I was standing, there was even
a crowd of Icelandic people who had
moved to New York, and who had
come out to see and support the band."
And really, when you think about it,
one thing you can't deny is that, in the
space of this unbelievably short time,
Of Monsters and Men have already
changed the status quo in term of
what it means to be an Icelandic act on
a global stage. This may not be a true
boon for other acts whose music is
more challenging or less ostentatious,
as OMAM fans fail to find something
they can grasp hold of as easily, but at
least it means more people will be lis-
tening.
And then, of course, there's the
challenge the band faces for itself. Will
it fall into the trap of embracing the
rapid success and simply self-replicat-
ing, as with Mumford & Sons before
it? Or will it strive to push further and
actually make new music that retains
the spark of what made us all stop in
our tracks the first time around?
Only time will tell.
- dOUG LEVY
Doug Levy is a New York-based freelance writer and
Contributing Editor for Flavorpill.
Among Icelandic acts, what Of Monsters and Men have accomplished is pretty much
unheard of. Within the space of two years, they went from non-existent to world famous.
And while Iceland clearly boasts its share of internationally renowned artists, none have
emerged quite so quickly on the global stage.
26 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 18 — 2012
CONCERT
R E V I E W
ERT
R E V I E W
MUSIC
*Their début album, ‘My Head Is An
Animal’ has received certified Plat-
inum status in Canada and Ireland,
Gold in Germany and the UK. It
charted all over the place, reaching
sixth place in the US for instance.
*According to the latest Nielsen
SoundScan numbers, ‘My Head
Is An Animal’ has shifted 485,408
copies in the U.S., which means
they will likely go Gold there before
the year is over.
*Amazon.com just released infor-
mation that their users have ranked
the album #1 on their Best Albums
of 2012 list.
*The lead single ‘Little Talks’ has
received certified platinum status
in the following countries: Germa-
ny, Australia, Canada, Italy, Ireland
and the U.S. (and probably Iceland
too, if we did singles. And certi-
fications). In fact, the single has
been purchased a total of 1,162,223
times in the U.S. alone.
FACT:
OF MONSTERS
ANd MEN ARE
HUUUUUGE!
“
I think the fact that
they're Icelandic is
very intriguing to their
fans in the US
„