Live Review: Of Monsters and Men at the O2 Academy Newcastle

Alexandra Mroczek reviews Of Monsters and Men's stunning performance at the O2 Academy

Aleksandra Mroczek
11th November 2019
Image: Aleksandra Mroczek
Icelandic indie folk/pop band, Of Monsters and Men, came back to Newcastle on October 27th after four years since their last concert here.

O2 Academy Newcastle, where the concert took place, was full of fans a long time before the support, Black Honey, began playing. Starting with ‘I Only Hurt The Ones I Love’ Black Honey appeared on stage without any lights directed on them creating a mysterious and electric atmosphere. Their other songs, such as ‘Dig’ and, the most popular, ‘Corrine’, made everyone sing and dance, even those, who didn’t know the band before. They warmed up the audience and made people even more excited about the Of Monsters and Men performance.

After half an hour lights went off again and fans invited Of Monsters and Men to the stage with excited applause. Nanna and Ragnar, who are the lead vocalists, started singing the first song, 'Alligator', with the band joining them seconds later. Throughout the whole show, they played a similar number of songs from their 2019 album, 'Fever Dream', and their debut, 'My Head Is An Animal'. There were only three songs from their second album, 'Beneath The Skin', which was a good decision as the audience was clearly waiting for the most popular and the newest songs.

Of Monsters and Men perfectly mixed their upbeat songs with the slow ones. ‘Ahay’, with an emotional Nanna’s solo, and ‘Sleepwalker’ calmed down the crowd between fast-paced, dance songs. The most powerful song, apart from the popular ones, was definitely ‘King And Lionheart’ when everyone was singing their hearts out and loudly stamping their feet shaking the whole place. Another one, ‘I Of The Storm’, with the parts sounding like military drums created a sublime and magical atmosphere.

Right before ‘Wars’, Ragnar gave a short speech asking everyone to dance and made a few jokes making the crowd laugh and leaving everyone in a great mood for the song. A few songs later the band played ‘Little Talks’ and later, ‘Dirty Paws’. It was clear that all fans were waiting especially for these two songs as I don't think there was anyone who wasn't singing and dancing then.

The last song, ‘Yellow Light’, was a good one to finish with as it was so calm and emotional that it allowed everyone to reflect on the whole concert and enjoy its last moments. The well-deserved applause lasted long after the band had left the stage.

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