Six years after 2019's
Fever Dream
,
Of Monsters and Men
returned with their fourth full-length,
All Is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade
. Hitting on the highs and lows of life, the Icelandic quintet stick close to their established sound: touching and tender indie folk anthems that play on earnestness and innocence. The vocal interplay between
Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir
and
Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson
remains the primary draw, with the band --
Brynjar Leifsson
Kristján Páll Kristjánsson
, and
Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson
-- wrapping listeners in the warm sonic hug that the group is known for. These are intimate peeks into life, both the good and bad, or the love and the pain from the album's title. The simplicity helps focus the effort, which dials back the bombast of earlier hits and leaves most of the synths and dance beats behind. Highlights include the dramatic chamber pop of "The Actor," which builds to horn-soaked glory, and the wounded, piano-backed "Fruit Bat," an epic centerpiece that slowly unfolds to reveal a wistful, yearning heart. Big radio single "Ordinary Creature" is wide-eyed and childlike in the sweetest way possible with its "I wish i could run to your house when it gets dark out" chorus. Rather than shaking things up,
play to their strengths and opt for soothing familiarity and comfort on a micro scale. ~ Neil Z. Yeung