TÍU

I remember when Of Monsters and Men were featured on Rolling Stone magazine’s website as an up-and-coming band with their album My Heart Is An Animal. Eager to give them a listen, I purchased the album on iTunes and found myself putting the album on constant repeat and soaking in every lyric and note I possibly could. It had felt like a secret that only I had been let in on. About six months later, Of Monsters and Men would get their big break with the hit single “Little Talks”…and suddenly everyone was enjoying the soothing melodies of the Icelandic band. But that was 2012 and here we are ten years since the release of My Heart Is An Animal. Directed by Dean Deblois, TÍU celebrates the ten-year anniversary of that album and provides an inside glimpse into the band Of Monsters And Men, and how they penned those songs that comprised their debut album. And since that release ten years ago the band has become more than just bandmates…they have become family. 

Taking viewers through the stories that formed the music for My Heart Is An Animal, the documentary TÍU celebrates the ten-year anniversary since its release by following band members Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson (backing vocals, melodica, glockenspiel), Brynjar Leifsson (electric guitar), Kristján Páll Kristjánsson (bass, backing vocals) and Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson (backing vocals, melodica, glockenspiel, tambourine) as they visit the places and memories that helped inspire the songs for it…whether they made it on to the album or were scrapped. Audiences are taken on a ride through Iceland as well as the memories that comprise some of the iconic songs where the band shows that their bond has only strengthened with time as they continue to write great music and tour.  

While director Deblois’s work is mainly in directing animation, he shines the most in his work that takes place in Nordic countries. As Deblois wrote and directed the How To Train Your Dragon films and directed 2007 movie Heima about another Icelandic band Sigur Rós, he gives the same attention to TÍU in focusing on the culture and beauty of Iceland and how it provided the perfect backdrop for Of Monsters and Men to write some of their best music. The band members come off as authentic and loving to the camera, taking pleasure in singing those songs that made them famous and even a few that they wished they could have kept in the final cut. They laugh and chide one another in a familial way, even admitting their love of John Mayer and genuinely humbled by the response their music has had on the world. And while we’re looking through the lens, TÍU feels more intimate than that. You feel like you are a part of the journey as you hear acoustic versions of each song and take in the emotion and love that comes through those performances. Even after ten years of playing the same songs over and over, the band continues to perform and genuinely share their love for their music.  

TÍU is a perfect way to honor an album that has contributed to the musical landscape in profound ways. Of Monsters and Men aren’t going anywhere, and their music will continue to inspire. And, on a personal note, for me My Heart Is An Animal will always hold a special place in my heart.