Monday night the sold out audience at the Water Street Music Hall in Rochester was treated to a rousing introduction to Icelandic folk/indie rock band Of Monsters And Men. Part Arcade Fire, part I'm From Barcelona, with a hint of Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust era Sigur Ros (otherwise known as The Naked People Running Across The Road album), Of Monsters And Men (or OMAM for short, mercifully) was in Western New York on their first tour of the United States, and based on their set it will not be their last. OMAM cast their spell quickly with "Dirty Paws," the first song off their excellent debut album My Head Is An Animal. Other highlights included epic renditions of "From Finner," their hit single "Little Talks," and "King and Lionheart."
My one regret was that I wasn't able to properly digest that album properly in time for the show (it came out last week) to better sing along with the band, a key component of OMAM's music and overall tribal vibe (if your tribe was of Viking descent and lived hearty lives near the tempestuous Atlantic Ocean). Having played pretty much the entirety of My Head Is An Animal to the rapturous crowd, they finished with "Yellow Light," the last song on that album, ending the night the way they began it, with a perfect masterpiece of quiet intimacy and restrained epic grandeur. Of Monsters And Men delivered an excellent set that made us believers, and next time I see them, I'll know the words.
Obsessed with Of Monsters and Men!!! I'm a little obsessed with the new part 2 video of "One Day" by Asaf Avidan/Wankelmut remix. Not sorry.