Of Monsters And Men, Scala, London

I really really wanted to open this review with the phrase ‘If you go down to the woods today’, as that is the sentence that is evoked when I picture Of Monsters And Men. The Icelandic septet, who have been touted as the ‘next big thing’ by all and sundry, fill my head with images of dragons, goblins and bridges with trolls living underneath them whenever their album ‘My Head Is An Animal’ is running through my iPod headphones. It’s like a Tolkien and Narnia mash-up set to music.

It’s very easy to pigeonhole Of Monsters And Men, as they throw together the Americana of Mumford & Sons with rousing choruses and crowd participation that Arcade Fire so successfully evoke. Add a pinch of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and a sprinkling of Peter, Bjorn & John and you’ve more-or-less got the recipe Of Monsters and Men have concocted. It’s obvious from the start of tonight’s set that this band is destined for venues significantly larger than this intimate Kings Cross venue. Crowd participation is the name of the game on most tracks, with the strategically placed ‘hey’s on the brass band grandeur that is ‘Little Talks’ and the dreamy storytale of ‘Dirty Paws’ suggesting that the band have dreams of packing out stadiums. As enjoyable as it is to sing along with the band in these moments, it does at times feel a tad forced and one wonders if this lyrical simplicity was a replacement for writers block.

However, where the band really excels is in their melodies; standing in a packed gig venue watching the band perform ‘Yellow Light’ is akin to laying on a soft mattress watching the silhouettes of a dozen lava lamps swirl on the ceiling above you while listening to a children’s nursery rhyme. It’s also crystal clear that the two lead singers, Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar þórhallsson were destined to sing alongside each other, with Hilmarsdóttir’s vocal flecks entwining with þórhallsson’s bassier tones to draw us ever deeper into their fairytale world.

Despite the band appearing to speak only broken English, it is obvious they are ecstatic, and perhaps a little overwhelmed, to be playing in front of such an enthusiastic crowd. Of Monsters And Men have taken the US by storm (with album ‘My Head Is An Animal’ being the highest-charting album in the country by an Icelandic band), and it’s clear that this success has crossed the Atlantic; halfway through the set, an audience member yells “what happened to your van driver that looked like a pirate?” Hilmarsdóttir then explains that this was a much-touted story on the band’s American tour and thanks the audience member for having such a good memory; that’s Icelandic kindness for you!

Overall, an impressive set from a band that has stolen many hearts around the world in a relatively short period of time. However, their live performance doesn’t quite match the brilliance of their album, with Hilmarsdóttir’s vocal quirks turning the lyrics into unintelligible squeaks fairly frequently. It’s difficult to knock them too much though, and it’s obvious that, after a couple of more tours, these creases will be ironed out.