Of Monsters and Men may be the definitive artist of the stomp-clap era. The year was 2012. Obama had just won a second term, CERN had proved the existence of the Higgs Boson, and the Curiosity had landed on Mars.

Enter “Little Talks” the infectious, baroque, horn-fed light in the darkness. This was it: the selected sound found that fed the sunburnt flower crown festival crowd. Hair and mustaches grew, V-neck tees dropped low, hat brims flattened, but the newly born Icelandic superstars did not overstay their welcome.

Despite their singular hit-defining millennial moment, it didn’t embody the band’s sensibility. Even the album which surrounds it, My Head is an Animal, is a much more sophisticated and emotionally anchored set of indie folk than the era gets credit for. They have only released three albums since. Their output has been measured, carrying forward their baroque musical language with increasing lyrical and tonal complexity without ever attempting to recreate the formula that produced their big hit.

All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade (2025) is a fantastical vision of the collective experience. Humans as animals is a throughline through their discography, as is their component parts: organs, paws, teeth, bones. Their festival performance may be a celebration of finer times and fuzzier creatures with Of Monsters and Men as the soundtrack. Dust off your flower crown, y’all.

- Liam Prost