It has honestly been years since I’ve listened to Of Monsters and Men. My instinctual reaction was a shocking reminder of that temporal alienation. Two of their new singles, “Wars” and “Wild Roses”, are as far-removed from the jangling, cobblestone path of folk goodness of “Lakehouse” as presidential tweets are from essays on the principles of responsible governance. This is, of course, my fault for not keeping up. Have I really aged so much to lose both my hearing and the taste for change? In order to claw back some semblance of courage, I present to you, Florida’s state reptile.
“Alligator” is the transitional fossil on their third album Fever Dream, that I use to assuage myself how people have not abandoned evolution in favor of instantaneous transformation. Traces of “Little Talks” can be found here and there. But if you still dig that folksy feeling, it would take much more than unearthing an early 20th century picture of 4 Nordic men. This is a very short introduction to the new species Of Monsters and Men: moody and prone to outbursts, yet still full of raw energy. I do like the 2:15 tone change in “Alligator”, far be it from me to subject all of us to the well-advertised-surprise explosion of emotions/volume in “Wild Roses”. Looking at their performance on Jimmy Fallon was all the proof that I needed: as their sound system crackled, what would have destroyed a folk song simply enhanced the new single, and it felt like the transformation was complete.