In Of Monsters and Men’s universe, every emotion deserves to be channeled through a wordless, grandiose group chant. With Beneath The Skin, the Icelandic indie-pop sextet pick up where they left off with 2012’s left-field hit My Head Is an Animal, pairing vague but dramatic imagery with ornamental, festival-friendly arrangements. The major difference is atmosphere. Skin plays like the minor-key B-side to Animal—a storm cloud to that album’s rainbow. Brooding electric guitars and low-register pianos add a visceral edge to tracks like the National-esque “Hunger” (“I’m drowning; I’m drowning,” Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir repeats in her suave croon) and “Human.” (“Cage me like an animal/ eat me like a cannibal,” Ragnar Þórhallsson sings, hovering over bonedry tom-toms and guitar crunch.) But the band sounds strained in that role, the darkness swallowing up the winsome perkiness that turned heads on their trumpet-propelled breakout single “Little Talks.” Here, Of Monsters and Men sound like a fairly ordinary rock band, downplaying their dynamic range. No surprise, but the most resonant songs are the quietest. Before its orchestral-scale swell, “Thousand Eyes” simmers patiently—a rare moment where the yearning feels genuine.