Live Review: Of Monster And Men - Eventim Apollo, London 29/10/2019

At the end of October, approaching the holiday of Halloween, monsters descended upon Eventim Apollo. But not just any monsters — these were the anthemic indie-folk terrors that are Of Monsters And Men, and we were there to catch every scarily amazing minute.First up, though, came Brighton’s brightest rising stars in the form of Black Honey — though with their distinct style of indie (and at times, almost psychedelic) rock, it was more a glossy, polished black than the typical doom-and-gloom.

Having released their self-titled debut album at the tail end of last year, and a string of triumphantly successful festival slots over the Summer, it felt right seeing them on a bigger stage, one they shall undoubtedly headline themselves in the next few years. With songs ranging from inspirational (single ‘Corrine’ being introduced as one “for all the girls who’ve been underestimated in their lives) to slow and crooning, with All My Pride becoming almost addictive in its gentle approach.

But it was the downright crazy that proved the highlight of the set, in the form of Spinning Wheel. The song started almost as a ballad, with lead vocalist Izzy Baxter illuminated by a searchlight, her vocals washing over the crowd accompanied by some light echoing guitar that faded into nothingness. For the first minute, at least, at which point they paused for an unreasonably long time — was that it?

Then, suddenly, came some blood-curdling shrieks, before the band broke into what can only be described as a Spaghetti- Western, Quentin Tarantino-esque take reminiscent of the legendary Dick Dale classic Miserlou. It was so unexpected, and just so plain brilliant — though even this doesn’t do the song justice. It just needs to be listened to in order to understand. Easily the highlight of their set, even if just for the sheer fun of it. At the end of the set, curtsying to the crowd, the foursome left to raucous applause, as was right.

But the real highlight of the night was just how simply and effortlessly talented Of Monsters and Men were. From the opening chords of Alligator, the lead single from recent third album Fever Dream, the band had everyone in the legendary Eventim Apollo hooked. With a setlist boasting the highlights of each era of their distinctive sound, the night celebrated the old and heralded the new equally. Coming on to a dark, blood-red stage with just a rabid eye visible behind them (taken from the recent artwork of Fever Dream), the crowd went ballistic. Having not played the UK since Glastonbury and Latitude festivals in 2016 — and not having had a headline set since touring in support of Beneath The Skin back in 2015 — the majority of those in the crowd had waited for too long a time for these Icelandic heroes to grace our English shores once more, and they did not disappoint.

Flying straight into one of the singles — and one of the only three songs that night — from sophomore offering Beneath The Skin, ‘Empire’, with lead singers Nanna and ‘Raggi’ effortlessly twinning their vocals on the chorus, the band kept their oral engagement to the minimum, instead allowing their melodies to do the talking for them. The contrast, though, between their older style and the new was obvious. Even the lighting was worlds apart, with Empire shaped by beams buzzing across the crowd while the follow-up, Ahay, was more soft, contemplative almost. Shaped by vertical beams of soft, orange lights, they gave the illusion of the band fading into eternity — which, with its gentle melodies and electronic add-ons seemed about right. It was easy to lose yourself in the tracks, particularly the newer ones, in as much as you can at such a monumental gig.

At least, it was until they broke into both King and Lionheart and Mountain Sound from their debut, switching to acoustic guitars and leading the crowd in a thunderous, scarily close to deafening clap. With the words being screamed back to them from every corner of the room, the band were all smiles — and rightfully so. They’d earned this reception, and were loving it.

A string of three Fever Dream favourites followed on, although arguably still not as beloved as anything offered from the more iconic, indie-folk sound of their earlier offerings. They seemed to act as a come-down from the sing-along high, with each being more focussed on emotive and heart-wrenching lyrics, particularly with second single Wild Roses, with ‘Wide Eyed’ Nanna crooning over a delicate piano-prominent arrangement, and ‘Raggi’-centric Stuck In Gravity, about being lost, motionless, waiting for the love of someone close: though, with the closing lyrics of ‘My head is still an animal’, it seems to promise that, although the sound may be a little rockier, a little poppier and a little more polished, they are still Of Monsters and Men and they still exist to write beautiful music. A sentiment that they comfortably delivered.

The second of Beneath The Skin graced the auditorium, here: the hopelessly transcendent I Of The Storm. A personal favourite, it had Nanna front and centre, spotlit from above, with the band in darkness behind her, leaving her alone to deal with the pain and guilt expressed in the song. The anxious ‘Are you really gonna love me when I’m gone?’ crooned at the audience seemed an empty question, with the thousands of fans singing the words back to her, but she seemed lost in her own world.

The rest of the set, however, took on a much happier tone. With latest single ‘Wars’ being introduced as “a song for horrible dancers”, it was an instant transition into a more upbeat sound, followed up immediately by Beneath The Skin’s Crystals, with its pounding drum-beat and addictive drum beats. But here, barring one track towards the end, signified the end of the newer material, with the rest of the set being made up of the favourites that made Of Monsters and Men what they are. Regardless of the brilliance of the synth-driven sound of Fever Dream, and the excellence of the (scant though it was) inclusion of 2015’s Beneath The Skin, My Head Is An Animal is still who Of Monsters and Men truly are, as much as they may change. Take Lakehouse, for instance. The crowd truly came alive, dancing and laughing alongside the band, and enjoyment was etched on the face of each and every individual there — only emphasised by the sudden explosion of seemingly endless confetti from the stage. Disregarding the novelty of confetti being released midway through the set — as delightfully surprising as it was — it was obvious that returning to their roots still makes their nights, and ours.

None more so than Little Talks, which followed on straight after. It was potentially the loudest sing along to any song ever — talk about anthemic. It seemed a shame that it ever ended, and didn’t just play out the remaining half an hour of the set!The ‘final song’ was Six Weeks, which gets progressively louder as it comes to it’s inevitable climax, and proved the perfect ending. Helped, too, by the inclusion of the drum part of Beneath The Skin’s Thousand Eyes, with Nanna moving to the back of the stage to smash them along with drummer Arnar — though that may just be wishful thinking on my part. The lyrics, “we’re coming back”, seemed the perfect in-cheek reference to the sudden ‘end’ to the show, that no-one whatsoever bought into.

Arriving back on stage — with the audience aghast with shock at being hoodwinked — the band meandered into the final song from the new offering: the wistful Waiting For The Snow. In my review of Fever Dream back in July, I spoke about how the song is a highlight of the album, yet to me is letdown by the electronic add-ons.

Live, it doesn’t have that problem.

People were in tears around me, with Nanna and ‘Raggi’ singing over a simple piano accompaniment. It’s hard to do such an amazingly personal song justice in words; it’s a melodic, majestic and mercilessly introspective song in which Nanna bares her vulnerabilities to the world. Much Like Beneath The Skin’s ‘Organs’, it’s an agonisingly delicate song, which had Nanna sinking to the floor, pouring her heart out.

Dirty Paws straight after, then, allowed the crowd to engage in one last true fiery ball of pent up exuberance. A song personifying the conflicts in Nature, it tells the story of a war between the birds and the bees, the former of which gets help from the animals down below, namely a fox. Writing it down, the song seems childlike, simplistically sweet. But it’s a beautifully crafted song, from which the album takes it name, and the crowd knew every single word. Finally, then, came Yellow Light. The closer from My Head Is An Animal, it twins seemingly dark (if hopeful) lyrics with some gentle yet addictive music, which takes up the majority of the song. This long extended outro allowed Nanna to walk around the stage and then through the pit, dancing gracefully and blowing kisses, before taking up her position at the drums at the back to thump alongside and build the song to a defeating crescendo, with harsh white lights flashing across the stage. A rather fitting way to end leaving everyone rapt with unadulterated attention at the band’s sheer coherence and volume and enabling Nanna to thank everyone in her own way, making up for the lack of actual band-crowd engagement.

The gig was, to put it simply, breathtaking. And loud. But mostly breathtaking. The only critique, if it could be called that, would just be the under-representation of 2015’s Beneath The Skin. Although not as commercially or critically successful as their debut (with it being too early to comment for Fever Dream), it still seemed a rather lacklustre and unceremonious end to its being truly featured on the band’s setlist, if it’s now to be retired, given that the band’s last UK tour featured the entirety of the album being played. Saying that, though, with the reception to each and every song played that night, it would be a pity to swap anything out.

Let’s just hope it doesn’t take another four years for the next UK tour!

Words by James O’Sullivan and Photography by James Baker