Beneath the Skin (Of Monsters and Men album)

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Beneath the Skin
Beneath the Skin.png
Studio album by Of Monsters and Men
Released 8 June 2015 (2015-06-08) (Icelandic release)
9 June 2015 (2015-06-09) (International release)
Recorded 2014-2015
Genre Indie folk, indie pop
Length 48:33
Label Republic
Producer Of Monsters and Men, Rich Costey
Of Monsters and Men chronology
Live from Vatnagarðar
(2013)Live from Vatnagarðar2013		 Beneath the Skin
(2015)
Icelandic release
Icelandic release
Singles from Beneath the Skin
  1. "Crystals"
    Released: 16 March 2015
  2. "I of the Storm"
    Released: 28 April 2015
  3. "Empire"
    Released: 14 May 2015
  4. "Hunger"
    Released: 26 May 2015
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 63/100[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
aNewRisingMusic 3.5/5 stars[2]
Billboard 3.5/5 stars[3]
Consequence of Sound C[4]
Entertainment Weekly B[5]
Q 3.5/5 stars
Sputnikmusic 4/5 stars[6]

Beneath the Skin is the second studio album by Icelandic folk-pop band Of Monsters and Men released on 8 June 2015 in Iceland,[7] and a day later in the rest of the world.[8] The album artwork and design has been created by artistic director Leif Podhajsky.[9] It debuted at number three on US Billboard 200, selling 61,000 copies in its first week, became the band's highest-charting album. The album was released to generally positive reviews.

The album title is derived from a lyric in the song "Human": Plants awoke and they slowly grow beneath the skin.

The album had a nomination for the 58th Grammys for Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package.

Commercial performance

On the chart dated 27 June 2015, Beneath the Skin debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart with 61,000 copies in the first week of its release (including 57,000 pure albums sales), became the highest-charting album of the band. Also, its sales in the first week made it the best sales week of the band.[10]

The album also made it entry at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 8,437 copies.[11] It dropped to number 40 with 2,749 units in the second week on chart.[12]

Track listing

All songs are credited to Of Monsters and Men, but were actually written by the band's individuals and/or others. The actual writers are listed alongside the tracks.[13]

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Crystals"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson 4:02
2. "Human"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson 3:58
3. "Hunger"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson 4:50
4. "Wolves Without Teeth"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson 3:58
5. "Empire"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson 4:22
6. "Slow Life"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson 5:43
7. "Organs"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson 4:31
8. "Black Water"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson 4:13
9. "Thousand Eyes"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson 4:02
10. "I of the Storm"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson 4:36
11. "We Sink"   Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson 4:23
Total length:
 48:33

Singles

Crystals, I of the Storm, Empire, and Hunger and Wolves Without Teeth were released as the album's singles.

Music & Lyric videos

There are currently three music videos, each for "Crystals," "Empire," and "Wolves without Teeth."
In addition, There are currently nine lyric videos:

  • "Crystals" lyric video features actor Siggi Sigurjóns lip-syncing the song's lyrics.
  • "I of the Storm" lyric video features actor Atli Freyr Demantur lip-syncing the song's lyrics.
  • "Empire" lyric video features actress Guðrún Bjarnadóttir lip-syncing the song's lyrics.
  • "Hunger" lyric video features actress Natalie G. Gunnarsdóttir lip-syncing the song's lyrics.
  • "Human" lyric video features actor Björn Stefánsson lip-syncing the song's lyrics.
  • "Organs" lyric video features one of the band's lead vocalists Nanna lip-syncing the song's lyrics.
  • "Thousand Eyes" lyric video features actor Ingvar E. Sigurðsson lip-syncing the song's lyrics.
  • "Wolves Without Teeth" lyric video features actresses Erna Jónasdóttir and Hrefna Jónasdóttir lip-syncing the song's lyrics.
  • "Black Water" lyric video features actress Guðrún Gísladóttir lip-syncing the song's lyrics.

All the videos start with their title cards.

The music videos:

  • "Crystals" features the band dressed as construction workers in a warehouse, creating a girlish creature with crystal eyes out of her shame.
  • "Empire" is filmed in black and white and features a young woman who has a very close relationship with another woman. The two of them hang out and it is implied that the young woman looks up to the other woman as a mentor figure in life. Time passes and it is revealed that it was just flashbacks as the young woman - now old - reflects on her life and wonders if she has really changed.
  • "Wolves Without Teeth" features a man and a woman performing cha-cha dancing for judges in a gym.

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 50
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[20] 17
French Albums (SNEP)[21] 62
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 10
Italian Albums (FIMI)[23] 28
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 10
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] 40
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[26] 27
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 6
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 10
US Billboard 200[29] 3

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Gold 40,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ http://leifpodhajsky.com/Of-Monsters-And-Men-Beneath-The-Skin
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ BMI Entry
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Of Monsters and Men – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Of Monsters and Men. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  22. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  25. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  27. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  28. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  29. ↑ "Of Monsters and Men – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Of Monsters and Men. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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