Concert Review: Of Monsters and Men, Árný Margrét, October 28, History

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Concert Review: Of Monsters and Men, Árný Margrét, October 28, History

Posted on

29 Oct 2025

by

Paul

Several minutes after their announced 9:00 pm start time, the members of Of Monsters and Men took to the stage at History and stood front and centre as a group. Well, almost as a group – there was one key member missing. It was then that singer/guitarist Ragnar Þórhallsson announced that the band’s lead singer Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir had lost her voice, and that that this was the first time this had ever happened. “It happens to me all the time,” he said, adding that the show still kind of works without him but doesn’t really without her.

A moment of confusion followed, as the audience collectively wondered what would come next. One guy jokingly offered to fill in for Nanna, though after Þórhallsson heard a little sample of his vocal talents, he decided to pass. They did announce though, that we should hang on to our tickets and that they’d be back as soon as they can to play a “real show” and in the meantime, they would play a handful of songs to try and salvage something out of the situation. What followed was a very truncated set of only four songs.

Opening up with a familiar tune, the band started things off with “Dirty Paws” off their debut album My Head is An Animal before then playing a pair of tunes off the new album All Is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade – “Dream Team” and “Tuna in a Can.” They ended their mini-set with their best known tune “Little Talks,” the crowd ably filling in for Nanna by singing her parts. And while the show we got was certainly not what anyone expected, what we did get still sounded great – even without Nanna – and it was nice to get at least a little taste.

Also on the bill was another Icelandic act, Árný Margrét, who played a charming and stripped back set that ultimately ended up being longer than that of the headliners. Playing at the very from of the stage, solo and armed with just her guitar, Margret put on a show better suited for a venue a fraction of the size of History, but she made it work regardless. There’s an easy kind of charm and warmth to her music, with tunes like “Greyhound Station” and “Born in Spring” standing out as the highlights.

Though the evening may not have gone as planned, what we got instead still made for a fairly memorable and enjoyable show and with the promise of a make-up concert on the horizon, I can’t imagine fans walked away too disappointed.

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