My Head Is an Animal explained

My Head Is an Animal
Type:studio
Artist:Of Monsters and Men
Cover:My Head Is An Animal.jpg
Released:20 September 2011 (In Iceland)
3 April 2012 (Internationally)
Recorded:26–28 March 2011;
9–25 January 2012
Studio:Studio Syrland, Vatnagarðar, Reykjavík[1]
Length:59:38
Label:Record, Republic
Producer:Of Monsters and Men, Aron Arnarsson, Jacquire King
Next Title:Live from Vatnagarðar
Next Year:2013

My Head Is an Animal is the debut studio album by the Icelandic indie rock band Of Monsters and Men,[2] released through Record Records in Iceland on 20 September 2011. After their success, topping the Icelandic charts with their debut single, "Little Talks", the band signed with Universal Music Group and the album was released internationally through Republic Records on 3 April 2012. The title of the album comes from the second line in "Dirty Paws".

Cover art

The front of the international release is a photograph that Brynjar's grandfather took of his friend. The original was black and white; Arnar Hilmarsson added the coloring. The back is a family photograph that Ragnar found in his family pictures.[3]

The pictures on the front and back of the Icelandic release depict men dressed for the Icelandic national sport of Glima.

Release and promotion

Singles

"Little Talks" was released as the debut single by the band, and the lead single from My Head Is an Animal on 20 December 2011,[4] after it had been released as a promo to radio stations in the US and Europe in July 2011.[5] The single propelled the band to nationwide popularity in the US, and has so far sold a million copies there.[6] The success of the single in the US led to the band's signing with Universal Music Group, and the single, along with a revised version of My Head Is an Animal was released in North America on 3 April 2012.[7] The music video for the song debuted in February 2012.

"Dirty Paws" served as the second single from My Head Is an Animal in the UK and Ireland. It was released on 12 April 2012, in the lead up to the album's re-release in Europe. A promotional single followed in June.[8]

"Six Weeks" was released as a promotional single from the album in the UK and Ireland. It was released as a digital download on 27 August 2012.[9]

"Mountain Sound" was released in the US as the second single from the album, and the fourth overall. Seeing a release worldwide as the follow-up to "Little Talks" as well, it was released on 2 September 2012.[10] A music video to accompany the single was released on 24 September.

Reception

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic it currently holds a rating of 66/100, signifying generally favourable reviews.[11]

Commercial performance

The album debuted in the United States at number six on the Billboard 200, selling 55,000 units in its first week alone.[12] This marked the best chart performance for an Icelandic musical artist in U.S. history.[12] [13] The previous chart record was held by Björk's Volta, which peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 in 2009.[12] In January 2014, the band announced via Facebook that the album had achieved platinum certification in the United States.[14] As of June 2015, the album has sold 1.1 million copies in the US.[15]

Track listing

All songs are credited to Of Monsters and Men, but were actually written by the band's individuals and/or others. The actual writers are listed alongside the tracks.[16]

Personnel

Of Monsters and Men

Additional musicians

Production (Icelandic release)

Production (US release)

Music and lyric videos

All music and lyric videos (except for the "Mountain Sound" music video, filmed live in Iceland) were produced and directed by Canadian production firm WeWereMonkeys. To create the video series, WeWereMonkeys drew inspiration from Nordic Mythology, suggestions from the band members and lyrics of the songs, to which they listened "over and over". They also travelled to Iceland, where they studied the landscape, in order to get ideas for the videos' settings. Several techniques were employed in the production, from live action to CGI, from stop-motion to digital painting.[17] [18] The videos were praised, with the "Little Talks" music video receiving a nomination in the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Art Direction in a Video".[19] [20]

Lyric videos

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2011–2013)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)[21] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2012)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 55
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23] 57
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] 32
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 72
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 44
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 88
US Billboard 200[28] 56
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[29] 12
Chart (2013)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 18
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[31] 48
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] 19
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 91
US Billboard 200[34] 48
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[35] 9
Chart (2014)! scope="col"
Position
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[36] 54
Chart (2016)! scope="col"
Position
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)[37] 76
Chart (2018)! scope="col"
Position
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)[38] 90

Decade-end charts

Chart (2010–2019)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[39] 89
US Billboard 200[40] 167

Notes and References

  1. Stúdíó Sýrland
  2. Beckmann, Jim (6 December 2011). "Of Monsters And Men: From Reykjavik With Love", NPR Music. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  3. Web site: Who is the man on the album cover for MHIAA? . 2013-07-22 . https://archive.today/20130722035122/http://fuckyeahofmonstersandmen.com/post/54615500187/who-is-the-man-on-the-album-cover-for-mhiaa . 2013-07-22 . dead.
  4. Web site: Of Monsters And Men – Little Talks – Single (2011). iTunes Archive. 2012-12-18. 20 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121120082050/http://www.itunesarchive.com/2687/of-monsters-and-men-little-talks-single-2011-itunes-plus-aac-m4a/. dead.
  5. Web site: Best New Releases, April 3rd, Vol. I – Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers, Max and the Moon, Lux, Black Mountain, Twin Steps - Indie Rock Cafe – Best new indie rock songs, bands, music, playlists. indierockcafe.com. 2012-12-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20130406093028/http://www.indierockcafe.com/2012/04/of-monsters-and-men-the-lumineers-max-and-the-moon-lux-twin-steps/. 2013-04-06. dead.
  6. News: Week Ending 21 October 2012. Songs: Maroon 5′s "Nixon Moment" . 24 October 2012 . Yahoo Music . Paul . Grein . 2012-10-25.
  7. Web site: My Head Is an Animal - Of Monsters and Men . iTunes. 20 September 2011 . 2012-12-18.
  8. Web site: Of Monsters And Men – Dirty Paws. Of Monsters And Men Discography . June 2012 . Discogs . 2012-12-18.
  9. Web site: Six Weeks - Single Of Monsters and Men. iTunes. 2012-12-18.
  10. Web site: Of Monsters And Men – Mountain Sound. Of Monsters And Men Discography . September 2012 . . 2012-12-18.
  11. Web site: My Head Is an Animal Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More. Metacritic. 2012-08-13.
  12. News: More Success for Of Monsters And Men . https://archive.today/20130419034435/http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/search/news/Default.asp?ew_0_a_id=389088 . dead . 2013-04-19 . . 2012-04-13 . 2012-07-09 .
  13. News: Thousands Attend Of Monsters And Men Concert . . 2012-07-07 . 2012-07-09.
  14. Web site: Of Monsters and Men . . 14 January 2014.
  15. Partridge. Kenneth. Of Monsters and Men Sink Their Teeth Into 'Beneath the Skin': Album Review. Billboard. June 15, 2015. October 27, 2016.
  16. Web site: BMI Entry. BMI.
  17. Web site: Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks. WeWereMonkeys Productions. 6 September 2019.
  18. Web site: Of Monsters and Men - King and Lionheart. WeWereMonkeys Productions. 6 September 2019.
  19. Web site: Best Art Direction Winner 2012 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA). https://web.archive.org/web/20120802233832/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/2012/best-art-direction/. dead. 2 August 2012. 2012. MTV. Viacom International Inc.. 17 November 2012.
  20. Web site: Video of the Year 2013. junoawards.ca. 6 September 2019.
  21. Web site: My Head Is an Animal: Plötulistinn. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927044129/http://www.tonlist.is/Music/Chartlist/271. dead. 2011-09-27. Tonlist. is. 3 January 2022.
  22. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums 2012. ARIA. 2015-01-15.
  23. Web site: ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS. ultratop.be.
  24. Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2012. Billboard. 4 October 2021.
  25. Web site: Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl. Steffen. Hung. www.dutchcharts.nl.
  26. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts. de. GfK Entertainment. offiziellecharts.de. 4 October 2021.
  27. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2012. Official Charts Company. 4 October 2021.
  28. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2012. Billboard. 4 October 2021.
  29. Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2012. Billboard. 4 October 2021.
  30. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums 2013. www.aria.com.au.
  31. Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2013. Billboard. 4 October 2021.
  32. Web site: Lorde topped by Sol3 Mio in album charts . . December 25, 2013 . December 26, 2013.
  33. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2013. Official Charts Company. 4 October 2021.
  34. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2013. Billboard. 4 October 2021.
  35. Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2013. Billboard. 4 October 2021.
  36. 2014 Year End Charts - Top Billboard Rock Albums. . December 9, 2014 .
  37. Web site: Tónlistinn – Plötur – 2016. Plötutíóindi. is. 1 April 2022.
  38. Web site: Tónlistinn – Plötur – 2018. Plötutíóindi. is. 3 January 2022.
  39. Web site: 2019 ARIA End of Decade Albums Chart. January 2020. 17 January 2020.
  40. Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200. Billboard. 31 January 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200930183821/https://www.billboard.com/charts/decade-end/billboard-200 . 30 September 2020.

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