Of Monsters and Men - 'Television Love'
After a five-year hiatus, Of Monsters and Men are back with 'Television Love', an homage to the passing of time.
This is the comeback that indie-folk fans have been waiting for over the last five years - and they won’t be disappointed. Of Monsters and Men are back and finally ready to share with the world what they’ve been working on for the past few years.
The latest single released by the Icelandic band is called ‘Television Song’, and it represents a conversation between two people, stretched across time. Like the band's other hits, such as their 2012 debut single 'Little Talks', it showcases the perfect balance between Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson’s voices, who alternate the verses and choruses as if they were having a intimate conversation.
Having spent so much time in their own studio focusing on solo projects, the band has evolved while maintaining perfect harmony. One thing that certainly hasn’t changed about Of Monsters and Men is their deep dedication to the arrangements and instruments in their music. The combination of guitar, piano, drums and trumpet that they use is unique and makes it easy to identify them as Of Monsters and Men.
Co-written by Nanna, Ragnar, and drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, the song talks about relationships through time, perhaps as a hint to all the fans who kept wondering if they'd ever go back on touring. "For the past few years, we’ve been tucked away in our studio quietly making music, and it feels really good to finally let people in on what we’ve been up to," they say.
The unique quality present in each Of Monsters and Men song is evident here. Fans who fell in love with their debut album My Head Is an Animal (2012) will feel as though the band never left the stage.
"We've had this song for a while and, whenever we were working in the studio, we'd revisit it at various stages of our lives. Each time, it felt like we had something new to contribute to the song’s story. Life happens, things change, and hopelessness turns into hope. The sonic landscape and the conversation became layered with our own history”.
Alongside the single, the band released a video directed by Erlendur Sveinsson, an award-winning filmmaker from Reykjavik in Iceland.
The video shows the band members in various settings and time periods, offering the audience some insight into their recent experiences of enjoying life together and apart. "The video centres on a conversation at a dinner table with the band, with the table moving through time and space, through chaos and calm, while simultaneously being connected to and disconnected from their surroundings".
Shot entirely on 35mm film, the video creates a nostalgic feel, as if we are watching retrospectively how they worked on the song. "It was shot during a summer night in Iceland. Because it was filmed around the solstice, we were able to stay up until the early morning without the sun ever setting. This strange kind of timelessness felt just right for 'Television Love'," they explain.
While the band hasn’t shared their plans regarding a full record or touring, they have recently confirmed that they will be performing at the Corona Capital festival in Mexico this November.
Words by Gabriela Simionato
