6/10

When Of Monsters And Men released their debut album 'My Head Is An Animal' back in 2011, their hit single 'Little Talks' quickly made them the biggest band that Iceland had ever delivered since Björk. Their combination of anthemic production through the lens of a folk aesthetic saw them tackle a niche that no-one had heard before, and this quickly became the path they took when it came to delivering the follow-up 'Beneath The Skin' in 2015. But since our appetite for their once popular style has now worn thin, the group have returned to embark on an entirely new direction with their third LP 'FEVER DREAM', a record that hopes to embrace a whole new perspective.

From the start, it is clear that this is not the same old Of Monsters And Men that we were expecting. While their signature sound of euphoric and uplifting songwriting still remains very much in place, the general tone of this new collection sees them wishing to blend into the more contemporary pop landscape cultivated by the likes of Pale Waves and The 1975. Rather than pounding drums and soaring vocals, the group go for the soft-then-loud texture that has proven popular for so many these last years, which at times causes this new release to slip into a mundane and unmemorable vibe.

While it still has plenty of fantastic moments, which include the opener 'Alligator' and subsequent single 'Wild Roses', 'FEVER DREAM' finds itself far too often sliding into a realm of bleak and uninspired filler tracks that do little to inspire the same awe and wonder of their previous records. A so-so return that lacks that continuous punch that we were hoping for.