Released 05/10/09, Island Records
So after being around and touring for what seems an age, Mumford and Sons have finally got round to releasing their debut album. The hype machine has been greedily swarming round them, fuelled by some cracking E.P releases, rapturously received live shows and the success of Fleet Foxes last year. With Mumford’s propensity for a harmony the Seattle folksters are the most obvious comparative touchpoint, though the English band are not so much about the tree-hugging bullshit and more issues of the heart, brotherhood and how these affect our place in the universe.
No more are lead singer Marcus Mumford’s romantic leanings better displayed than on the opening title track where he croons ‘love it will not betray you/Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free.’ With lesser bands this could end up as somewhat trite, but with Mumfords gravelly voice it comes across as a wonderfully simple and idealistic statement. The fact that the song then erupts (in the Mumford and Sons sense) with a combination of horns, banjo and keys and the repeated refrain give it all the more gravity.
A sense of the epic accompanies several more of the tracks, not least ‘Winter Winds’, which grabs instantly with its liberal blasting of the trumpet and chorus of ‘and my head told my heart/let love grow/But my heart told my head/This time no, this time no. A uncomplicated poetic thrust dictates throughout; although well written and metaphor heavy, we always know what Mumford is on about which may well help them attack the mainstream. There are several radio-friendly songs on here and with a bit of money to accompany the generally positive word-of-mouth, they could be this (and next) years sleeper hit.
As the album continues the band seem to grow in stature and the songs elongate and complicate, both lyrically and musically. In general this works, though some songs do tend to slip by unnoticed; ‘Timshel’ is relatively throwaway and fails to inspire. Similarly, ‘Awake My Soul’, whilst being nice enough, isn’t quite as grand as its lyrics of ‘awake my soul, awake my soul/for you were made to meet your maker’ would suggest. However, thoughts of this are forgotten once the stunning ‘Dust Bowl Dance’ kicks in with its brooding Nick Cave-esque tone, before building to an conclusion that is every bit as epic as it is welcome.
Of course, ‘big’ folk music is very much the rage at the moment-thank you for that Arcade Fire- so there is a chance that Mumford and Sons will just slip by and not get picked by the world at large. But one hopes and suspects not because they’ve got pretty much everything going for them not least an ear for AN eminently hummable vocal melody and , whilst the production is a little bit polished at times, Sigh No More is a damn fine debut.
Posted In Album Reviews, Oct 16 2009.
Words - David