Of Monsters and Men: 5 April 2012 – Brooklyn, NY

The latest band from Iceland to watch out for is Of Monsters and Men. Their album, My Head is an Animal was released in the latter half of 2011 in Iceland from which they released the single “Little Talks”. As highly improbable as it may sound, it seems the band broke in the States from the enthusiasm radio stations had for them.

The band eventually were signed to a label, reworked tracks like “Lakehouse” a bit, added two new ones (“Mountain Sound”, “Slow and Steady”) and removed “Numb Bears” for the US release of their album this month. Currently on tour, the band found themselves in New York City for two sold out nights, the first of which was broadcast live from the intimate Music Hall of Williamsburg by the Bowery Presents.

The band, plus a seventh member, was in fine spirits as they played through most of the album and one unreleased song “Beneath my Bed” that they have been performing on the road. Most of the songs got the crowd singing along, though the album was officially only out for two days in this country. The biggest applauses came for “King and Lionheart” and “Little Talks” of course as the audience may have heard those the most.

To wrap up all the fun, Of Monsters and Men stirred up a bit of magic with “Yellow Light”. The mellower sing-along affair engaged the audience with its “la-lala-la-la-la” chant stitching the band and audience all the more closely together.

Visit PopMatters’ Facebook page to see more images from this intimate Of Monsters and Men concert.

Live footage (in setlist order):