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DLC Week of 4/27: Of Monsters And Men and YONAKA

Of Monsters And Men “Mountain Sound” and YONAKA “PANIC” are immersive tracks that welcome the listener into whole other worlds in a disarmingly effective way. Do yourself a favor and pick up this new DLC debuting Thursday in the Rock Band Music Store!

Of Monsters And Men“Mountain Sound” served as the second single from the Icelandic folk-rock group’s debut album, My Head Is An Animal, reaching number 14 on the U.S. Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart on the strength of the earnest, touching tune’s many charms. Musically, the track comes barreling out of the gate with full-band potency, jangly guitars supporting a playful and sparse keyboard figure. Bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson’s confident bass locks into drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson’s up-tempo pocket, keeping the proceedings moving along at a healthy clip. Singer/guitarist Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson’s soothing and haunting voice completes the picture at the 18-second mark as the verses establish tone and mood. The memorably impactful chorus is defined in part by a sort of call-and-response between lead singer and vocalist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir’s soaring upper register and full-band gang vocals. Hilmarsdóttir does a lot of the heavy lifting in that former component, adding a welcome feminine contrast that balances the overall sonic presentation. This is power-pop/folk-rock (That’s a thing, right? It is now) at its finest, conjuring up images of outdoor celebrations and conviviality. At 2:03, Of Monsters And Men brings the energy down a bit – just the keyboard line over a spartan kick-snare/handclaps beat – before it’s back to the races, with a double-dose revisit of the relentlessly hooky refrain. The outro vamps on the chorus’ melody and key lyrics before fading out at a fairly compact three minutes, 31 seconds. Think anthemic arena rock channeled through intimate acoustic aesthetics and you’re on the right path. “Mountain Sound” truly is aptly named – a journey through the wild beauty of nature. You’ll be playing this one a lot.

With “PANIC,” the first single off YONAKA’s 2023 LP, Welcome To My House, the Brighton, UK-based three-piece displays an energy that’s every bit as all-caps as the song’s stylized title. As the track starts, palm-muted guitar and pulsing bass reverberate through unpredictable beat-craft as frontwoman Theresa Jarvis sings both at and for the listener in a manner that’s both intimate and just a tiny bit threatening. Piano bolsters the potency nicely before the magnetic and massive chorus at the 39-second mark. The refrain’s scathing lyrics – and indeed the whole song’s – alternate between confident defiance and self-recrimination. Beginning with the reliable device of spelling out a song’s chorus or main theme (“P-A-N-I-C”), each stanza is rounded out with a low-register, spoken “retort,” of sorts. Though drums join for the second verse, George Edwards on guitar and Alex Crosby on bass and keyboards exhibit judicious restraint throughout the cut; their relatively minimal instrumentation and arrangement cedes the spotlight to deeply personal lyrics delving into some weighty topics – but not without a degree of humor. “‘PANIC’ is a song about having a panic attack and how the body gets taken over by this other entity,” Jarvis has shared. “I’ve got the angel and the devil on my shoulders constantly arguing about which road I should go down and how mental health carries a weight so heavy that it’s hard to feel affected by outside dangers.” She added, “But I want you to feel the lightness of the track and I want it to make you laugh because I’m literally having an argument with myself.” We get a middle-eight defined by soaring “whoah”s at 1:57 before it’s time for one last go-through with the arena-ready, holler-along refrain. These alt-rockers bring a lot to the table, which has made them one of the faster-rising international ensembles in recent years. Don’t PANIC – you can grab this banger today!

Of Monsters And Men “Mountain Sound” and YONAKA “PANIC” are included in the Season 31 Pass. Grab yours today and take advantage of the entire season of DLC. Both are available for $1.99 each.

  • Of Monsters And Men – Mountain Sound”
  • YONAKA – “PANIC”

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*Please note that this week’s DLC tracks will be available for purchase on Thursday, April 27th.