Of Monsters and Men

Of Monsters and Men is an Icelandic indie folk/rock band formed in Garðabær in 2010. It consists of lead singer and guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, singer and guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, lead guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, and bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson. The band won the Músíktilraunir in 2010, an annual Battle of the Bands in Iceland. In 2011, Of Monsters and Men released an EP titled Into the Woods. Their 2011 debut album, My Head Is an Animal, reached the No.1 position in Australia, Iceland, and Ireland, as well as on the US Rock and Alternative charts, while peaking at No. 6 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, No. 3 in the UK, and top 20 of most European and Canadian charts. Its lead single, "Little Talks", was an international success, reaching the top 10 in most music charts in Europe, including No. 1 in Ireland and Iceland, and No. 1 on US Alternative Songs.

Of Monsters and Men won the 2013 European Border Breakers Awards.

2009–2010: Formation and early work
The band was formed in 2009, when Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir decided to add additional members to her solo project, Songbird. Of Monsters and Men entered 2010's Músíktilraunir, an annual music competition held in Iceland, as a quartet, with Nanna (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Brynjar (electric guitar), Raggi (backing vocals, melodica, glockenspiel), and Arnar (backing vocals, melodica, glockenspiel, tambourine). Raggi came up with the band name.

Following Músiktilraunir, the quartet added two more members, Árni (accordion/keys, backing vocals) and Kristján (bass, backing vocals), and continued to tour in Iceland and work on new songs. They were invited to perform at the 2010 Iceland Airwaves festival, and it was there that the Seattle-based radio station KEXP recorded them performing "Little Talks", from a living-room session.

2011–2013: My Head Is an Animal


Of Monsters and Men signed with Record Records in February 2011, for the release of their debut album in Iceland. In March, they went to Studio Sýrland in Reykjavík to record and produce it. In August, Philadelphia's Radio 104.5 began playing "Little Talks" and propelled the band to nationwide popularity. The album, My Head Is an Animal, was released in Iceland in September 2011 with both it and "Little Talks" hitting No. 1.

With success in Iceland and growing popularity in the United States, the band signed with Universal for a worldwide release of the record.

Of Monsters and Men issued the EP Into the Woods on 20 December 2011, which featured four songs from their debut album, and later put out My Head Is an Animal in the US, on 3 April 2012.

The band performed at the Newport Folk Festival on Rhode Island on 29 July 2012, at Osheaga in Montreal on 3 August 2012, and at Lollapalooza in Chicago on 5 August 2012. They also toured several European countries, including Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. On 5 October 2012, the group appeared on the PBS music show Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders, performing "Mountain Sound". Árni Guðjónsson subsequently left the band.

Trumpeter Ragnhildur Gunnarsdóttir joined Of Monsters and Men on their 2012 tour as a session player.

The group performed "Little Talks" and "Mountain Sound" on Saturday Night Live on 4 May 2013, and they played at the first annual Boston Calling Music Festival, on 26 May 2013.

Their song "Dirty Paws" was featured in a trailer for the 2013 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the iPhone 5 introduction video released in September 2012. They contributed the track "Silhouettes" to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack, and their song "Sinking Man" is featured on The Walking Dead: Original Soundtrack – Vol. 1.

2014–2018: Beneath the Skin
Of Monsters and Men began working on a new album in August 2013. In an interview published on 6 May 2014, Nanna stated that the album was forthcoming, but that the band had not decided on a release date yet. They officially began recording on 3 November 2014. At a listening session in February 2015, the band announced that their yet-to-be-named second album would come out later in the year. They later posted a teaser video on their site for the album's first single, "Crystals". It was released on 16 March 2015, along with the tracklist and other details about the upcoming record, titled Beneath the Skin, set to be released on 8 June. The album and single artwork was created by artist Leif Podhajsky.

In May 2015, the band issued dates for a tour to promote the record. The North American leg of the tour ran from 5 August 2015 to 17 October 2015. The track "Thousand Eyes" was featured in the preseason advertising for Jessica Jones. Of Monsters and Men appeared in a cameo on the episodes "The Door" and "Blood of My Blood" of Game of Thrones, as stage musicians.

On 21 May 2017, the band posted a picture on their Instagram account, with the caption "Album 3. Let's do this!!!" In October 2017, it was announced that they had hit one billion streams on Spotify, becoming the first Icelandic band to do so.

2019–present: Fever Dream and Tíu
On 2 May 2019, Of Monsters and Men released "Alligator", the first single from their third album, Fever Dream, which came out on 26 July. On 11 July 2019, they issued the track "Wild Roses". On 26 July 2019, it was followed by "Wars".

On 9 September 2020, the band unveiled a single titled "Visitor", along with a music video. On 8 April 2021, the single "Destroyer" came out.

On 9 June 2022, Of Monsters and Men released the documentary Tíu, accompanied by an EP of the same name, at the 2022 Tribeca Film festival, as a celebration of the ten-year anniversary of My Head Is an Animal.

This was followed by a special live acoustic performance of their new songs "Visitor", "This Happiness", and "Lonely Weather".

Band members
Current members
 * Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir – lead vocals, guitars, piano, organ (2010–present)
 * Ragnar Þórhallsson – co-lead vocals, guitars, melodica, glockenspiel (2010–present)
 * Brynjar Leifsson – lead guitars, melodica, tambourine, backing vocals (2010–present)
 * Kristján Páll Kristjánsson – bass guitars, egg shaker, backing vocals (2010–present)
 * Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson – drums, percussion, melodica, glockenspiel, accordion, keyboard, piano, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (2010–present)

Former members
 * Árni Guðjónsson – accordion, piano, organ, keyboards, backing vocals (2010–2012)

Touring members


 * Ragnhildur Gunnarsdóttir – trumpet, accordion, keyboards, piano, floor tom, tambourine, backing vocals (2010–present)
 * Steingrimur Karl Teague – piano, keyboards, organ, accordion, backing vocals (2012–present)
 * Bjarni Þór Jensson – guitar, percussion, keyboards (2015–present)
 * Sigrún Kristbjörg Jónsdóttir – trombone, percussion, accordion (2015–present)