Mumford and Sons: Babel-ing Away to Another Hit

Until a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea who this band was. The amount of knowledge I knew about Mumford and Sons was limited to my friend saying, “Hey check out this new Mumford and Sons song” and “I’m trying to get their new album!” Curiosity got the best of me and the good old Wikipedia was open on my Internet Explorer window (yeah, I know, I STILL don’t have Chrome). My limited knowledge of this apparently folk rock band as described in the side bar of their Wikipedia page was not enough for me. In no time I had YouTube up and running as I scoured the web trying to find their songs (not so much scour as peruse, but you get my point). This band was not on my radar at all: But it is now.

They seem to be able to combine old school folk music with innovative sounds and country countermelodies and singing. I don’t consider myself a country fan. Maybe that is because I have never really been exposed to many songs of modern country. I think that country has probably grown into something more tolerable and even something rather enjoyable. I consider Mumford and Sons more of a country rock band, but that depends on your background. If you are straight from Nashville, you would probably scoff at that declaration but rock is in the ear of the listener. Either way they have written some pretty impressive music.

After listening to several of their songs on their newest album “Babel”, I have mixed emotions about their music. While I still believe that they are a talented band, I’m not sure if some of their stylistic choices mesh with some of my personal tastes. As you may notice, this blog post is about something radically different than any other band I’ve blogged about. No, my tastes aren’t changing. I just wanted a fresh perspective into the music realm and go into foreign waters. Anyway, the album throws out some distinct sounds. I feel that a lot of the countermelody stays very similar throughout multiple songs and the one saving grace is varying vocals. After about two minutes into each song, I start to get tired of the constant and repetitive strumming of a banjo in the background. Once again, it might be because of my lack of exposure to the genre, but there is only so much of that I can handle! That brings me to another point about their newest album. Have you seen the track listing? 4:36, 4:13, 5:39, 5:14, 5:21 minutes long each song! My attention span isn’t that long with songs I am familiar with; throw in a new genre and I’m about to go crazy. I think this is one downfall of this album: its sheer length takes away from the talent by stretching it out thin.

Another thing that bugs me before I start describing the positive things about this album: I feel that a song is either really upbeat or really soft. For the songs that they attempt to mesh the two, it starts off really low and soft, like in “Lover’s Eyes” and then they seem to abruptly change to a higher gear and keep the intensity throughout the rest of the song. I guess I desire more of a ‘story’ arc to my songs that takes me on a journey.

Now don’t get me wrong; Mumford and Sons takes me on a journey! While I seem to be a downer about this band, I am amazed at the work that they have displayed. They really hit the mark on two main fronts: vocals and lyrics. Because of its incorporation with a soulful type of music, I can take more powerful and passionate lyrics seriously as compared to upbeat pop songs. That is one method that I think Mumford and Sons exceeds at with their style choice. Because of their folk music, they are able to have deep and meaningful lyrics that match the general tone of the instrumentals itself. In sadder songs, they are able to keep the singing low and the instruments sparse and soft. In happier songs (and in the climaxes of songs) they can get away with using their wild banjo and guitar-like instruments to get a wild folk party sound! The vocals, as well add to the power of the each piece of music they compose. His deep soul-filled voice gives off an aura of passion. While it can get old at times, his consistent voice unifies a variety of songs with various tones together to make it sound like “Mumford and Sons”. His voice is so distinct that I think I will be able to recognize any of their songs now!

Now to the videos! I’m going to post three videos today. The first one is the lead song named “Babel”. Babel was the first song that I ever listened to by Mumford and Sons and it caught me. Thus it exquisitely served its purpose as the lead song on the album. They start out with an epic guitar diddle at the beginning that leads into the main counter melody. This song accents Mumford’s voice the best and they mesh well as one. Additionally, this song has rises and falls to it that I like in a song; making the powerful and upbeat sections of the song that much more cherished. Check it out below:

The next video I wanted to highlight from this album is their lead hit single, “I Will Wait”. This song starts off again with pretty rocking and upbeat instrumental introduction. This gets cut off into a softer vocal section that slowly builds back up to the high level of intensity. At the same time, it keeps the soft tone of this love related song. This is definitely one of my favorites from the album and I can see how it risen to the top of the charts. Check it out. Even if you don’t think their music is to your liking, it’ll grow on you:

While I have mixed feelings about this band that I just now discovered, I think that I might have been introduced to a new type of music that could grow on me. Pretty good despite being abnormally long!