Of Monsters and Men @ The Forum 10-01-20
photos + words: Sarah Rix (@sarahrix)
Review
“… an Arcade Fire development in their repertoire that’s both beautifully done and sounding.”
When Of Monsters and Men came into the pop culture stratosphere with the success of their 2011 single “Little Talks”, it was easy to catalogue them with the likes of The Lumineers and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Their folk-sy, clap-along hollers and audience-involving “hey!” shouts was catchy, but also seemingly simple – an easy win.
Seeing and listening to them now, though: you’d be surprised by how far the Icelandic band has come.
Of Monsters and Men
With their third studio album, 2019’s Fever Dream, the band has ventured into meticulously-crafted sounds. It’s ambitious, extensive and a welcome development. They’ve gone away from the folk ambitions that coloured 2011 debut My Head is an Animal, whilst retaining their ability to craft big-sounding, approachable songs. It’s an Arcade Fire development in their repertoire that’s both beautifully done and sounding.
Of Monsters and Men
Ending off their Australian tour to a busy Forum on a Friday night, it was a welcome venue change from the initially announced Festival Hall, favouring the band’s acoustics), Of Monsters and Men were quick to introduce the crowd to Fever Dream lead-off “Alligator”, a hazy, tambourine-shaking rush making use of vocalist Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdóttir’s impassioned delivery.
Performing beneath a giant eye, taken from the cover of their latest record, equally as impressive was “Sleepwalker”. Its chorus of “Sleepwalking in Mexico / The lights are out” floated up to the Forum’s ceiling – the song showing off enviable harmonies between Hikmarsdóttir and second lead vocalist Ragnar Pórhallsson.
Of Monsters and Men
Their Triple j Like a Version cover of Post Malone’s “Circles” was perhaps the weakest point of their otherwise meticulously precise set, but Hilmarsdóttir seemed well aware of it himself – ending the song with a laugh, telling the crowd sometimes it’s fun to try something new.
Of course, tracks from 2011’s My Head Is an Animal inevitably found favour with the crowd, with highlights of “Mountain Sound”, “Dirty Paws”, and “King and Lionheart” all drawing the expected sing alongs.
Of Monsters and Men
“Lakehouse”, another from their first album, featured flashy drums and booming vocals – but beneath the big sounds, it’s clear that over the years the members of Of Monsters and Men have become more confident and comfortable in their songwriting. Their newer material is more nuanced and complex and it’s a great thing to see them mature into it.
Of Monsters and Men
The members of Of Monsters and Men are a talented enough that they don’t necessarily need to rely on stage antics to sell their music. Drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson did, however, do his best to rile up the crowd, often perching on top of his drum kit to encourage audience clap alongs.
The encouragement was appreciated but fairly unnecessary for the enduring “Little Talks”, coming late in the band’s 16-song set. You’d be hard pressed to find an audience member at the Forum who didn’t shout “hey!” on cue; muscle memory ingrained from the song’s ubiquity.
Of Monsters and Men
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