Of Monsters and Men made the Roundhouse their own
The Icelandic band brought their The Mouse Parade tour to London.
Photo: Martin
On a cold Wednesday in February, the Roundhouse in Camden was treated to a warming performance from Icelandic artists Of Monsters and Men; a very polished, powerful execution of how to have an audience within the palm of your hand.
Camden played host as part of their European tour — christened The Mouse Parade Tour —following the release of their new album in October, All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade. The roundhouse as a venue was very complementary to the show, with wonderful acoustics that allowed the vocals to come across strongly whilst also maintaining a comfortable, familiar energy, which played so well into the performance from the band.
The show kicked off with the supporting act Arny Margret. A fellow artist from Iceland, who well and truly captivated me. Coming on stage with only a guitar and a microphone had me already intrigued and, as soon as I heard her stunning vocals, I was hooked.
Arny Margret did not have any fancy staging or lightwork because all she needed was her voice. Like me, the audience were feeding off her performance, truly entranced by what they were hearing, to which I have no doubt many in that venue would never have had the pleasure of hearing this before; they were really into it, showing Arny Margret great appreciation after every song.
This appreciation was very much warranted and even more so when she told the audience that she had been ill and struggling to keep her voice. This blew me away because I was already impressed with what I was hearing, and to then discover that this is not the performance at 100% left me stunned. The experience was a very melancholic and sombre one, which was deliberate, of course, and has definitely had the desired effect on me and many in attendance.
The headline act Of Monsters and Men then hit the stage. The temperature of the room definitely changed, and the energy from this was immediate.
Of Monsters and Men’s discography is one with many different episodes of whimsy, wonder, but also can present a more serious, tender experience, which allows them to really experiment with a setlist to try and ascertain what type of connection they wish to share with the given audience.
They were able to do this because, as songwriters, they are outstanding storytellers, which allows people to build this connection with the band and relay this to their personal experiences. And being in the audience, you could very much feel it and hear it with the audience singing back to the band.
It would be hard to go to an Of Monsters and Men show and not talk about the ebb and flow of the vocals from both Nanna and Ragnar. Its yin and yang nature just works unbelievably well and this is only exacerbated in their live performance.
It gives you a real push and pull, bouncing between one and the other with the whole act, including the “big one”, Little Talks, which was performed with Arny Margret. I don’t think nostalgia is enough to describe the feeling I felt when listening to this. I stepped back into 2011, like I was hearing it for the first time all over again. An unreal atmosphere for this song and an absolute privilege to be a part of, and it really summed up the show.
So, on this cold night in February, it was safe to say that Iceland’s talent owned North London that evening, and it was an incredible thing to be a part of.
