Fever Dream (Of Monsters and Men album) explained

Fever Dream
Type:	studio
Artist:	Of Monsters and Men
Cover:	Of Monsters and Men - Fever Dream.png
Genre:	Electronica indie folk stadium rock^[1]
Length:	40:30
Label:	Republic
Prev Title:	Beneath the Skin
Prev Year:	2015

Fever Dream (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men, released on 26 July 2019 through Republic Records.^[2] The album was co-produced by the band with Rich Costey, and was preceded by the lead single "Alligator".^[3]

Background

Lead singer Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir said that while writing the album she had grown "really tired" of writing songs on an acoustic guitar as it "brought out things in [me] that were predictable", so she began working on a laptop at home, "figuring out all these new sounds and being curious about them".^[4] Nanna said lead single "Alligator", called "driving and percussion-heavy" by Billboard,^[5] began like a "dance song", but that it is not entirely representative of the album's sound. She described the album as "more poppy and brighter" than the band's previous album, 2015's Beneath the Skin.^[3]

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews from music critics. It holds a rating of 70 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Commercial performance

Fever Dream debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 with 34,000 album-equivalent units, of which 30,000 were pure album sales. It is Of Monsters and Men's third US top 10 album.^[6]

Personnel

Of Monsters and Men

• Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir – vocals (all tracks), guitar (1), synthesizer (1, 4–7, 10), samples (2, 4–6, 10), piano (3, 4), percussion (6), keyboards (8)
• Ragnar Þórhallsson – vocals (1–3, 5–11), guitar (1, 5, 6, 11), piano (2, 5, 10), samples (2), synthesizer (5, 7, 9, 10), keyboards (8)
• Brynjar Leifsson – guitar, synthesizer (1–3, 5–11); samples (2, 9, 10)
• Kristján Páll Kristjánsson – bass (all tracks), synth bass (1), synthesizer (2, 5–7, 10, 11)
• Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson – drums, percussion (1–3, 5–11); programming (2, 5–8, 10, 11), samples (3, 7, 8, 10), synthesizer (3, 7–11), piano (11)

Additional musicians

• Steingrimur Karl Teague – piano (2, 4–6, 9)
• Rich Costey – programming (2, 5)
• Viktor Orri Árnason – strings (4, 10)
• Martin Cooke – programming (5, 8)

Technical

• Joe LaPorta – mastering
• Rich Costey – mixing
• Martin Cooke – engineering
• KT Pipal – mixing assistance

Artwork and design

• Davíð Arnar Baldursson – design, layout
• Ragnar Þórhallsson – design, layout
• Jón Sæmundur – paintings

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2019)! scope="col"

Peak position
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)^[7]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2019)! scope="col"

Position
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)^[8]	39

Notes and References

1. News: Of Monsters and Men: Fever Dream review – Living in a land of confusion. 13 March 2021. The Irish Times. en.
2. Web site: Of Monsters and Men Announce First New Album in Four Years, Fever Dream. Paste. Thomaston. Lindsay. 7 May 2019. 23 June 2019. 8 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190508001227/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/05/of-monsters-and-men-announce-first-album-in-four-y.html. dead.
3. Web site: Of Monsters And Men tell us about their 'playful and empowering' new album 'Fever Dream'. NME. Trendell. Andrew. 7 May 2019. 23 June 2019.
4. Web site: Nanna Hilmarsdóttir Is Ready to Get Vulnerable. Women's Wear Daily. Nordstrom. Leigh. 19 June 2019. 23 June 2019.
5. Of Monsters and Men Announce 'Fever Dream' Album Release Date. Billboard. Kaufman. Gil. 7 May 2019. 23 June 2019.
6. NF Scores Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'The Search'. Billboard. Caulfield. Keith. August 4, 2019. August 5, 2019.
7. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20190808221803/http://plotutidindi.is:80/tonlistinn. 8 August 2019. Tónlistinn – plötur. Plötutíóindi. is. 4 April 2022.
8. Web site: Tónlistinn – Plötur – 2019. Plötutíóindi. is. 1 April 2022.