Live Review: Of Monsters & Men, Vallis Alps

Walking up Flinders Street we immediately notice that there is a massive amount of people waiting outside Forum Theatre. Get closer and you'll see that it's the line for Of Monsters & Men and that it goes all the way around the block an hour before they've even opened the doors.

Right on time Vallis Alps begin. Beats man David Ansari steps out and sways a bit to the intro of their set before singer Parissa Tosif makes her entrance on stage, running her fingers through her hair and taking the mic. Her voice is just angelic from the moment she begins, weaving in and out of the delicate piano melodies and contrasting against the heavy bass lines. Towards the end of their set, Tosif reveals that it's their first show and we're all a little stunned at how good they are.

When Vallis Alps wrap things up we're left waiting a little longer than we expect for Of Monsters & Men, but it's worth it. The room goes pitch black and the Icelandic seven-piece step out on stage and launch right into Thousand Eyes. We can barely see the band — only the glittering disco balls behind them — and the whole thing feels magical right from the outset. A few songs later they play King And Lionheart and the drummer starts a clap mid-way through and carries it all the way to the end of the song. "This one's our new single. You can actually call the radio stations and have them play it. A lot," male vocalist Ragnar Þórhallsson says to laughter from the crowd before playing Empire. Immediately after, Of Monsters & Men launch into Mountain Sound, but it's a bit early in the set for such a big song (no one's hyped up enough yet). Next comes Hunger, Slow Life and Crystals and, after some banter about beer and a few more songs, we arrive at hit Little Talks, and it's clear that everyone's been waiting for it. After a slight (very endearing) language barrier struggle to thank Vallis Alps for supporting them, Six Weeks comes next and then the band finish on an encore of Dirty Paws, Silhouette and We Sink.