Of Monsters And Men

When David Fricke of “Rolling Stone” showers a group with accolades like, “meet your new Arcade Fire,” it’s pretty safe to say the music world is going to take note.

Icelandic sextet Of Monsters And Men made a fan in Fricke in October after he caught a performance during the 2011 Iceland Airwaves festival that featured all the “full-steam ascension, unison-vocal choruses and the clear lusty harmonizing” a folk-pop fan could ask for.

But the buzz around the band goes back a bit further.

Photo: John Davisson

Manager Heather Kolker of Esja Management, who’s also an agent at Paradigm, told Pollstar she first learned about Of Monsters And Men after it won an Icelandic music competition in 2010.

Upon meeting, the band sought her advice and began sending her songs that left such an impression she decided to take on a management role with the group, bringing Paradigm’s Marty Diamond aboard as agent.

Kolker credits online attention and support from radio stations including Seattle’s KEXP and WRFF in Philadelphia with helping to keep Of Monsters And Men on the radar in the leadup to a record deal with Universal Republic last year.

An EP followed and the group began selling out dates from coast to coast prior to the U.S. release of its debut album, My Head Is An Animal, in April.

Photo: Anthony Bacigalupo

“The band is very fortunate to have had sold-out shows pretty much across the board,” Kolker said. “From L.A. to New York to London, the energy is big – I rarely see that kind of audience energy. The band really likes to connect with the audience and has a lot of fun on stage and the fans feel that.”

Of Monsters And Men is touring Europe through the end of September, then heads back to the U.S. in November and December, Kolker said. Discussions are in the works for visits to Australia, Japan and South America, plus more U.S., U.K. and European dates in 2013.

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