Of Monsters and Men, Manchester Academy 1, 24th Feb 2013 9/10

Of Monsters and Men played one of my favourite sets of Reading Festival last year, so my excitement at seeing them on home ground was considerable. I didn't even care that patience was stretched by the long wait for a  lacklustre support band, and with only one album released, that they played for little more than an hour. Whilst I was hoping for some new material, this wasn't to be. Yet, this was such an overwhelmingly joyful occasion, one that still has me on a high 24 hours later.

Their musical material isn't particularly original: as befits Iceland's geographical location, it could be described as mid way between Mumford and Sons and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The instrumentation owes something to Arcade Fire: trumpet plays a prominent role, as does accordion, and of course acoustic guitar. The other common ground with the Canadian band is the energy level: even in the quieter songs the audience's attention was held totally, despite the large venue I'd found noisy for The Lumineers a few days' earlier.

There was little between song banter, and few gimmicks: just foot stomping melodies, delivered with gusto and genuine pleasure. Their stagecraft and delivery is full of character, and the charismatic vocals of Nanna Bryndís were compelling. I was stood in full view of drummer Arnar Rósenkranz, who attacked with relentless energy. These are performers who give all to the audience, enjoying themselves so tangibly that their love for music and fun is infectious. The subject matter- lakes and mythology- gives it a distinctive Icelandic flavour, whilst the closing Yellow Light had a moving, visionary quality.

Their hit, Little Talks, predictably worked the audience into a frenzy, yet the album My Head is An Animal is devoid of fillers. In truth, the formula of a gradual build up from solo acoustic guitars and vocals to the full band can become a little predicable, but it's churlish to complain when it's such a party. It's the polar opposite of classical music (which I still love), whose appeal is in the intellectual complexity of structural development: this is of the moment, a visceral experience with a direct connection to the serotonin receptors in the brain. For this reason, I'll be reluctant to miss any of their future shows here, and I'm already excited to be seeing them at Coachella in April.