Mumford & Sons are certainly not a band I would recommend or 'listen' to on a regular basis. That may be a bold statement, but it's true. Something’s in life are truly free, as is my expression; I'll never publish a fake review. This is legit expressionism and journalism covering a band called Mumford & Sons. The album is called Babel. If you're expecting what some would call a positive review, then you're in the wrong place. This is Music Review Database and here we review albums with some form of objectivity.
Now that I have your attention, I'd like to quote Ben Lovett. "We're
the poor man's version of The Beatles." This statement in itself
angers me, let alone the modest Beatles comparison. Mumford & Sons are the
musical equivalent of Mitt Romney… Outspoken, clueless and downright
artificial. We'll experience some more Mumford & Sons quotes later.
You don't have to be an NME reader to know about Mumford & Sons; they
are literally everywhere. Forget Radio One, forget BBC advertisements and
forget newspaper cover stories. Mumford & Sons are top dogs in the United
States of America. Radio, TV like ESPN, my girlfriend’s dorm in Pennsylvania...
There is no escape. 2009's debut album Sigh No More was generally well
received. Certain audiences loathed Sigh No More, whilst others swallowed it up
in a sweet 'authentic' gulp. Those in my vicinity were often left questioning
me 'Fleet Foxes? Who are they?’ The harmonies are there, the single
material stands out, but what was it about Mumford & Sons that left such a
big scar on modern folk music. Was it the lack of originality? The depth? Structure?
Or was it the tedious reality that they are nothing compared to the likes of
Tim Buckley, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and yes… Fleet Foxes.
So what does Babel sound like? Sigh No More. No really, it sounds like Sigh
No More. On paper, three years have passed… On your IPod, nothing. This isn't
surprising given their choice of direction. Mumford & Sons are a very
commercial band. They don't manipulate sounds at all; it's actually quite sweet
and baroque. The titular track has an ear catching, but simple guitar riff.
Mumford & Sons are not special musicians. They're vaguely talented per
se... This is something I think most listeners notice. Tracks like "Whispers In The Dark" and "Holland Road" do little to please or grab my attention. It's the
'vague' factor again. Yeah, they sound nice... It's lovely instrumentation, but
its god damn bland. The progressions are predictable, one listen is enough for
anyone to formulate an opinion.
"I Will Wait" does offer some form of 'catchy' material. The opening riff
features the same range of instruments we've heard by Mumford & Sons in the
past. This track is ultimately a Coldplay B-side with a banjo. The chorus is
slow, obvious and quite annoying. Then again, I can just fuck off. Ben Lovett: "The
cynics can just all fuck off." I'm beginning to dislike this guy.
They put out tracks like "Ghosts That We Knew", a laid-back fingerpicking
Americana-esque track. And "Lover of The Light", again, a slow laid-back and
simplistic track. How can they expect people not to be cynical when they say,
and I quote none other than Ben fucking Lovett, "We think this new
record will attract a different audience. And broaden people's view of
us." What complete and utter bollocks. What audience are they
expecting? They have American girls in dormitories singing "Little Lion Man", nursing
teachers singing along to "The Cave" on The Pulse (Sirius XM). This different
audience doesn't exist. And no musical or lyrical segment on Babel will broaden
people’s view of Mumford & Sons, I can assure you of that.
Mumford & Sons were once described, "A load of retarded Irish
folk singers", by Mark E Smith. The Fall frontman seems to always
step over the line. What he says might sound and read offensive and wrong, but there’s
truth and correction within his words. Mumford & Sons themselves have
criticised their own ability to play their instruments. Ben Lovett has stated, "We
have no idea what we are doing, so if anyone thinks they have figured us out,
they are five steps ahead of us.” I hate to break it to you Ben; we're
not five steps ahead of you. You're just five steps behind everyone else.
Babel comes down to one thing, and that’s originality. These tracks offer
very little more than Sigh No More, I'd agree indefinitely to a Sigh No More
> Babel view. This album never excites or surprises me. It just makes me
want to turn it off and forget about
Mumford & Sons.
~Eddie
3.1