Of Monsters and Men captivate Leeds with intimate, cinematic performance at the O2 Academy
At the O2 Academy Leeds, Of Monsters and Men showed exactly why, more than ten years into their career, they still captivate audiences with their live performances.
Like other stops on this UK tour, the Icelandic legends balanced newer material with crowd favourites, drawing obvious delight from a room ready to sing along.
Opening with Television Love, they set a confident tone that flowed effortlessly into King and Lionheart, filling the venue with their signature mix of soaring harmonies, pulsing rhythms, and cinematic textures.
There’s a purposeful energy to their live performances - propulsive rhythms, melodic hooks and tight harmony delivery that somehow feels both polished and immediate.
It’s a dynamic that’s been noted on other legs of this tour, where the newer songs stand comfortably alongside classics and get as warm a reception.
The audience in Leeds certainly responded. When Dirty Paws and Little Talks came around, it wasn’t just nostalgia, it was a room-full moment of recognition, with fans singing back every line with genuine enthusiasm.
That mix of connection and community is what keeps this band’s live shows feeling special.
The encore delivered one of the night’s most memorable highlights.
Love Love Love got the crowd gently swaying, but it was the performance of Fruit Bat, featuring opener Árný Margrét in her final show of the run, that really landed.
There was a sense of occasion as she stepped forward, the audience fully tuned in.
As the song built, it gathered more intensity and finished on a big, satisfying crescendo that drew one of the loudest cheers of the evening.
It wasn’t about spectacle, instead, atmospheric lighting and dramatic acoustics made the show feel intimate, with the band addressing the crowd as if they were hanging out with friends.
Just a band playing their best songs with heart, rounding out a night that left both long-time fans and newcomers feeling they’d been part of something genuinely enjoyable.