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The Icelandic Of Monsters and Men singer had been abiding by her trusty acoustic guitar for years when finally, during the making of the band’s latest record, she’d had enough. Sitting down with the rest of the band was a process that seemed nearly foolproof at the beginning of their careers — it enabled them to pen “Little Talks” and “Mountain Sound,” two No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart After years of looking around the studio and seeing only men, she decided to change that. It scared her — having no “real” production experience — but according to Hilmarsdóttir, it was vital, not only for the band’s next steps, but for herself and women everywhere. The final result was the group’s third album, Fever Dream, out today (July 26). “There were so many moments of me not feeling strong and powerful,” Hilmarsdóttir says of the writing process. The lead single, “Alligator,” came from that place of not feeling strong. The group needed to create something to contradict that vulnerable feeling and make them feel empowered, even if it was a lie at first. Singer-guitarist Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson supported Hilmarsdóttir’s new approach and the band members wrote separately, rather than together as a group, for the first time ever. That need for newfound power is evident throughout the record, and despite having no experience with this new method as a band, they created what is perhaps their most ambitious work yet. Billboard chatted with Hilmarsdóttir about the writing process, as well as what it’s like to be a woman in modern rock music.