OF MONSTERS AND MEN: Fever Dream

Surprise, surprise: That thundering, dynamic, synth-heavy new song you just heard on your alt rock station was by Of Monsters And Men. Yes, it took a while, but the Icelandic folk-rock outfit has finally discovered the volume knobs on the amplifiers. And the resulting Fever Dream is their best album so far, by far.

Their first two albums found major international success on the strength of pretty little numbers like Little Talks and Dirty Paws. But you wouldn’t be alone if you found their early stuff just a little too lightweight to sit on the same shelf as, say, Arcade Fire. OMAM’s first two albums were stirring, and yet thoroughly soft, as if they were tailor-made for the trailers of Disney's recent live-action fairy tale remakes.

And don't forget that this band broke through on the same general tide as The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons.  All three bands are remarkably talented, and all three once leaned just a little too hard into hokiness, at least for this reviewer.  The Lumineers are still hugely popular, but they sure aren't threatening to update their approach anytime soon.  If their new single is an indication, they're still hamstrung by hokiness.

But just as Mumford did on Wilder Mind, Of Monsters and Men use their third album to make a distinctly electric left turn.  It turns out, what they really want to do is rock.  Fever Dream opens with and takes its title from the new single Alligator.  It's an invigorating three-minute anthem which retains the band's signature sound while cranking up a whole slew of new tricks:  The stomp of the bass drum.  The urgency of the lyrics.  The chugging guitars of the post-chorus.

Vulture, Vulture resembles The Naked and Famous in all of their dance-floor sheen. Wild Roses finds the band playing with vocal layering in subtle new ways. Under A Dome even tosses around- brace yourself- the F word, for an unrepentant break-up song. The new sound never feels like a stretch or a gimmick- more like a burst of energy from a band that has certainly earned it.

I can almost hear half the fanbase pining for the band that wrote Little Talks:  "This new album is way too noisy, what am I supposed to play at my day spa/yoga retreat/vegan bake sale now?"  Well, for those spurned purists, good news:  There's a new Lumineers album on the way.  But if you’re looking for something you can blast on a dance floor as well as a back porch, Fever Dream is your record. This one is truly a monster. A-