Fever Dream (Of Monsters and Men album)

Fever Dream (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men, released on 26 July 2019 through Republic Records.^[2] The album was co-produced by the band with Rich Costey, and was preceded by the lead single "Alligator".^[3]

Fever Dream
Studio album by Of Monsters and Men
Released	26 July 2019 (2019-07-26)
Genre	Electronica indie folk stadium rock[1]
Length	40:30
Label	Republic
Producer	Of Monsters and Men Rich Costey
Of Monsters and Men chronology
Beneath the Skin (2015) Fever Dream (2019)
Singles from Fever Dream
"Alligator" Released: 3 May 2019 "Wild Roses" Released: 12 July 2019

Background

Lead singer Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir said that while writing the album she had grown "really tired" of writing songs on an acoustic guitar as it "brought out things in [me] that were predictable", so she began working on a laptop at home, "figuring out all these new sounds and being curious about them".^[4] Nanna said lead single "Alligator", called "driving and percussion-heavy" by Billboard,^[5] began like a "dance song", but that it is not entirely representative of the album's sound. She described the album as "more poppy and brighter" than the band's previous album, 2015's Beneath the Skin.^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
DIY	[8]
The Irish Times	[9]
Paste	6.3/10[10]
Sputnikmusic	4.2/5[11]

The album received positive reviews from music critics. It holds a rating of 70 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[6]

Commercial performance

Fever Dream debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 with 34,000 album-equivalent units, of which 30,000 were pure album sales. It is Of Monsters and Men's third US top 10 album.^[12]

Track listing

Fever Dream track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Alligator"	3:04
2.	"Ahay"	2:56
3.	"Róróró"	4:20
4.	"Waiting for the Snow"	3:43
5.	"Vulture, Vulture"	2:56
6.	"Wild Roses"	4:02
7.	"Stuck in Gravity"	4:24
8.	"Sleepwalker"	3:20
9.	"Wars"	3:38
10.	"Under a Dome"	4:33
11.	"Soothsayer"	3:34
Total length:		40:30

Personnel

Of Monsters and Men

• Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir – vocals (all tracks), guitar (1), synthesizer (1, 4–7, 10), samples (2, 4–6, 10), piano (3, 4), percussion (6), keyboards (8)
• Ragnar Þórhallsson – vocals (1–3, 5–11), guitar (1, 5, 6, 11), piano (2, 5, 10), samples (2), synthesizer (5, 7, 9, 10), keyboards (8)
• Brynjar Leifsson – guitar, synthesizer (1–3, 5–11); samples (2, 9, 10)
• Kristján Páll Kristjánsson – bass (all tracks), synth bass (1), synthesizer (2, 5–7, 10, 11)
• Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson – drums, percussion (1–3, 5–11); programming (2, 5–8, 10, 11), samples (3, 7, 8, 10), synthesizer (3, 7–11), piano (11)

Additional musicians

• Steingrimur Karl Teague – piano (2, 4–6, 9)
• Rich Costey – programming (2, 5)
• Viktor Orri Árnason – strings (4, 10)
• Martin Cooke – programming (5, 8)

Technical

• Joe LaPorta – mastering
• Rich Costey – mixing
• Martin Cooke – engineering
• KT Pipal – mixing assistance

Artwork and design

• Davíð Arnar Baldursson – design, layout
• Ragnar Þórhallsson – design, layout
• Jón Sæmundur – paintings

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Fever Dream Chart (2019) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 21 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 55 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 81 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 79 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[17] 2 French Albums (SNEP)[18] 132 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 29 Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)[20] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[21] 90 Scottish Albums (OCC)[22] 8 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[23] 54 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 13 UK Albums (OCC)[25] 15 US Billboard 200[26] 9 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[27] 2 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[28] 1 US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[29] 11

Year-end charts 2019 year-end chart performance for Fever Dream Chart (2019) Position Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)[30] 39