You've probably heard this song on the radio this summer. To the band's amazement, it's a worldwide hit. "It's even big in Turkey," they told us, shaking their collective heads, pleasantly bewildered. But it's easy to see why the song has caught on with its rolling, infectious energy, that chorus of "heys!" and a foreboding lyric that ends up reassuring us we're all going to make it safely back to shore.
And the six-member band itself -- with a trumpet player added for their 2012 tour -- clearly has its own charm, as we discovered when we spent an afternoon with them in L.A. They wear their sudden fame lightly -- quick to make jokes about themselves -- and they take obvious pleasure in playing music with each other.
Asked why they preferred singing in English, beyond the obvious desire to reach a global audience, drummer Arnar Rosenkranz Hilmarsson laughed and said in Icelandic songs, "It's easy to be cheesy."
We liked the spirit and bounce of "Little Talks" so much that we decided to make it the theme song for our next episode of SOUND TRACKS: Music Without Borders, which you can see October 5 on PBS, along with more music from Of Monsters and Men.
Of Monsters and Men
Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, singer
Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, singer
Brynjar Leifsson, guitar
Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, drums
Árni Guðjónsson, accordion
Kristján Páll Kristjánsson, bass
Ragnhildur Gunnarsdottir, trumpet, on their 2012 tour
Official website: Of Monsters and Men
ofmonstersandmen.is/index.html
Sound Tracks website
www.pbs.org/soundtracks/
27 авг 2012
