Thank God for Mumford and Sons. In a world of Ke$ha, Justin Beiber and the sheer awfulness of Nicki Minaj, Mumford and Sons is like manna sent down from the heavens. Standing like a lone rose in a field full of weeds, they are a consummate and delightfully different kind of band. Defying convention is what they do. Shooting down all preconceived notions of what a rock band is and should be is their forte.
Besides destroying musical clichés, Mumford and Sons has another rare talent: bridging the generation gap. Teens and grandparents alike can find something of value in Mumford and Sons’ music. Parents and their children find themselves grooving to the same infectious banjo groove. What is it about this band that makes them so popular with baby boomers, generation Y and everyone in between? This question is surprisingly not a difficult one. Mumford and Sons have captured the ears and hearts of the world by possessing what is sorely lacking in today’s music: Musicianship.
Coming off the enormous success of their multi-Grammy-nominated first album Sigh No More which featured such hits as “Little Lion Man” and “The Cave,” the English foursome are back with their sophomore effort entitled Babel. Like Sigh No More, Babel has its fair share of sing-along choruses, poetic lyrics and, yes, raucous banjo. The album opens with the title track which, honestly, sounds like it could come from either album. The energy level gets cranked up to ten with hits “Whispers in the Dark,” “I Will Wait” and the track “Lover of the Light,” which contains the band’s most penetrating lyrics to date. “Holland Road” brings the energy level down a few notches as hypnotic piano compliments the soothing harmonies perfectly and ends with huge percussion and brass sections reveling in rhythmic glory.
After listening to Babel a few times through I came to a troubling realization. First, let me give the issue some pretext. Mumford and Sons do not sound like anyone else. This is fantastic. It’s a rare feat to distance oneself from the hogwash polluting today’s airwaves while still maintaining relevancy. Here is where the trouble arises, though. The potential problem lies not with the band’s striking individuality but with their indifference towards building on that individuality. Basically, what I’m suggesting is that Mumford and Sons might start sounding too much like themselves.
Before you crumple up this review and toss it in the trash in a fit of rage, let me explain. Cycling through the tracks on Babel, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Well this one sounds like it’s from Sigh No More,” and “Didn’t I just listen to this?” You see, Mumford and Sons has reached a point in their still-budding career where, in order to keep the critics happy and the fans interested, they must show some sort of musical evolution. What Mumford and Sons has done in an ironic twist of fate is destroyed the worn out musical formula that was diluting the airwaves and inadvertently exhausted their own—at the time—fresh and original formula. What they are doing is verging on stylistic flatness. I’m not saying that they must entirely reinvent themselves, but dipping one’s toes in the pool of artistic creativity every once in awhile never hurt anyone.
Luckily, it’s not too late. There is still time for artistic progression. If I could give any advice at all to the lads it would be to take heed of fellow Englishmen Radiohead, who reign as the undisputed kings of musical evolution. Like Mumford and Sons, Radiohead has sounded like nobody else in the business but, unlike Mumford and Sons, Radiohead has consistently brought something new and exhilarating to the table with each release. Progressing from album to album was like discovering a new facade to their musical talents you didn’t even know existed. Mumford and Sons can learn a thing or two from Thom Yorke and the boys. Though this may come off as a harsh critique, it is merely friendly advice. It would truly be a musical travesty for such an original band to be pigeonholed by, well, their own originality.
Advice and comparisons aside, Babel is still a solid album that will delight longtime fans and newcomers with its catchy hooks, meaningful lyrics and abounding triumphant choruses. With Babel, Mumford and Sons has proven that there’s a place in today’s music scene for folk-rock anthems, poetic lyrics and country-picked banjos. They have shown record execs that there’s still a place for true musicianship in today’s industry with music that goes past synthetically-driven beats and auto-tuned voices. And for all this and much more, I salute you Mumford and Sons. Rock on.
Critic’s Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Eric Duffert can be reached at eduffert@aol.com.