Of Monsters and Men, Bear in Heaven, Au [week's Top Releases]

This is a good week for familiarity. Many veteran acts are releasing new albums that perpetuate the music they have been making for years, helping to solidify their positions as mainstays in the industry. We’ve also thrown a debut album in there, but it’s one that will easily fall into heavy rotation on your playlists, making you feel like you’ve been listening to them forever.

It seems a bit strange that in these days of relentless touring and album cycles, I Love You, It’s Cool is only Bear In Heaven’s (@bearinheaven) third album. They have, after all, existed in some form or another for about a decade now. Jon Philpot and crew, however, seem to be fans of taking things slowly. In fact, they recently slowed down I Love You, It’s Cool to a 2,700 hour block of drone and released it as a preview stream on their website. The band said one of the goals of the stream was to “Invite listeners to interpret & consider each sound, sit back and breathe.” Don’t have 2,700 hours to spare? The intended speed album was released today — and it’s decidedly more up-tempo.

It’s very easy to have a listen to Of Monsters and Men’s (@ofmonstersandmen) debut album, My Head Is An Animal, and compare them to The Head And The Heart or Mumford & Sons. They’re an indie folk group featuring sweet boy/girl harmonies over melodic guitars and predictable rhythm sections. The sound is familiar, but that doesn’t mean the result is any less pleasing. My Head Is An Animal is accessible, enjoyable and positions the Icelandic band as an up-and-comer in the indie-folk genre — definitely a group to keep paying attention to.

Punk rock New Jersey kids Screaming Females (@screamales) released their fifth full-length LP today. Produced by the always-in-demand Steve Albini, the band is quick to assert that Ugly is a work that is deeply their own and not much should be assumed or inferred based upon who was turning the knobs in the studio. Indeed, Ugly is aggressive and defiant, a thrash-filled disc that is more of what we’ve come to expect from a band that has consistently put out good records for years now.

Avant-garde music often has the tendency to be too self-involved or pretentious, and experimental musicians can easily fall prey to the endless possibilities of electronic manipulation. Classically trained musician Luke Wyland, though, seems to be able to avoid that on his newest release under the AU (@autheband) moniker, Both Lights. The folk instruments and obvious jazz influences reveal a sophistication and focus that are unique to the genre and affirm Wyland’s undeniable musicality.