Mumford and Sons Push Forward With New Album “Babel”

By: Chris D’Alessandro –

There was never much doubt that the new Mumford and Sons would be any good. Babel could have just been twelve songs that sounded exactly like Sigh No More and 95 per cent of their audience sincerely would not mind.

That 95 per cent would not have been fools either. Mumford and Sons simply make an appealing noise. Their new-folk, light-rock sound is unique and intellectual yet miraculously beloved by the masses.

There’s a very earnest simplicity to Mumford and Sons that was obviously going to come through on the next album and of course, the audience would be happy.

Evidently, Babel was going to sound like Mumford and Sons, and rest assured it absolutely does. All of the slow singing, folksy-twang and the unmistakable gravitas all make a return.

However, Babel deserves more than to just be regarded as an encore to Sigh No More.

This album succeeds because it takes the Mumford sound that we’ve all become accustom to at this point and evolve it.

You may have gathered from the first single, I Will Wait that the pace is faster. The guitar picks are more aggressive, the drum kicks have more weight and the vocals have hints of grit that really set songs off (especially in sections when all band members sing). If you didn’t think it was possible to shred on the banjo, “Whispers in the Dark” will make you a believer.

While the principals that make up Mumford are present, this group feels more like a rock-band. It’s like City and Colour’s last album, Little Hell. It still sounds like what’s familiar, but with more of a rock and roll punch.

Don’t worry there’s still plenty of slow-stuff here to get all emotional over (Ghosts That We Knew pretty much sobs for itself), but the new-grit is readily apparent.

This might be down to the album’s producer, Markus Dravs, who had most recently produced Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto.  While there aren’t many musical similarities between two albums, Babel does seem to have a decidedly more polished feel. Underlying tones, riffs and melodies are all acceptable choices for the record, however purists will find more joy in the rawer, live versions of songs.

You would never mistake any of the songs for anything other than Mumford and Sons, but there is growth here, and that is refreshing and encouraging to see in a band that clearly could have just pumped out the same noise as before.

By contrast, and perhaps more impressive, Mumford’s sound has not at all been comprised by these slight adjustments. All the beloved elements from the last album are still here, but with more punch.

Hats must come off for Mumford here. There is perhaps no better way to do a second album than to evolve the sound without compromising the established formula.

Essential Tracks: Whispers in the Dark, Babel, I Will Wait