There’s something about four lads from England with instruments in hand, and the knowledge of how to play them, that gets me all hot and bothered. The first British quartet to come into my life was The Beatles when I was about four years old. My dad had a poster of them in his office and at least once a day I would ask him to tell me which one was which. Up until high school I had a huge crush on Paul and to this day he is still my favorite mop-top. In my sophomore year of high school I was introduced to a new group of English musicians, but this time they held a banjo and a stand-up bass. My friend Emalie started listening to Mumford & Sons after a summer romance broke her heart, and she gave me their first album, Sigh No More. I wish I could say that after listening to this record I had an epiphany and realized that this band was going to be one of the most important groups that would influence my life and my music. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. It took a few months of me listening to Sigh No More on repeat and by that point their music had become so engrained in my mind that an epiphany was out of the question.
Mumford & Sons, to me, is not just a band that makes good music. Their songs have gotten me through quite a lot of emotional turmoil as well as helped me celebrate the good times. When I worked for the Northwest Youth Corps, after I graduated high school, Sigh No More became the album of choice while we were driving from work site to work site. Whenever Little Lion Man came on my crew leader would turn it up so loud you could feel the bus vibrating with the banjo licks. So, for me, listening to Mumford & Sons is a special experience. Is it weird to call it a spiritual experience? Because there are times when that is what it feels like. When I drive by myself I love to blast their music out of my tiny Prius speakers. There is something undeniably ‘other’ about the goose bumps and elation I feel while listening to them. Sometimes it feels like my stomach is being filled with helium and might float away.
After Babel, their second record, came out I had their lyrics, “Awake my soul” translated into French so it became, “Réveille mon âme” and got the words tattooed onto my chest. It is a constant reminder to me to never give up on the journey to reconnect with my soul, to awaken it. Also it’s nice to have these words coming from a group of people who are very special to me, even if they don’t know it.
When Mumford & Sons announced that they were going on hiatus I was disappointed, but also understood their reasoning. They had been on a non-stop tour for the past six years so they were exhausted and needed to take a break. Almost a year later I read that they were going to release a third album and was close to tears, I was so thrilled. Their absence had been palpable, and even though it had given me a chance to explore new music. I was eager to listen to the new songs they’d been working on. Musical acts tend to get a lot of shit when they release new music. From what I’ve noticed the two main reasons are either their new album sounds exactly the same as their previous one(s) or their sound has changed so much they may as well be a new band. This is an extremely unfair way to judge a group’s material. People change and evolve and their music and art change with them. I always wish I could congratulate bands that take a chance and change their sound. This change, to me, means they’re growing and they aren’t stuck in the same pattern that has been making them money for however long they’ve been doing it.
Believe was the first song I heard from Mumford & Sons’ new album Wilder Mind. I admit I was surprised and a little skeptical. Was this the same band that I had been missing for so long? Where was the banjo? The stand-up bass? The kick drum? I was really attached to that folk-rock vibe that they had created through their earlier work and it was hard to trust this new electric sound that they were producing. However, instead of whining about the lack of banjo, I promised myself that I wouldn’t pass judgement until I heard Wilder Mind in its entirety.
As I patiently waited for May 4th, Wilder Mind’s release date, I listened to Believe, The Wolf, and several other singles they released before the album, still holding back my opinion. When their sophomore album Babel came out it took quite a few listens before I decided that I really loved it, and I suspected it would be the same with their third album. I was right. May 4th finally came and at last I was able to hold the record in my hand. Wilder Mind is so different from Babel and Sigh No More yet it still has Mumford & Sons’ signature harmonies along with their poetic lyrics that made me fall in love with them in the first place. Listening to Wilder Mind was like having lunch with a friend I hadn’t seen in years who had gone through a transformative experience and was glowing with their new confidence. I feel that this album is Mumford & Sons choosing the path that will help them grow as a band and individual musicians rather than the road that will take them to the black hole of media where the amount of money you have equals how successful you are.
At this point I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to Wilder Mind; I’m guessing it’s up in the 50’s. I’m really enjoying the new direction that they’ve taken with more electric guitar and a full drum kit. Marcus Mumford’s voice has dropped at least an octave, which gives the record a different feel. Although the songs are electric instead of acoustic they still hold the same Mumford & Sons equation- starting soft and slow, then exploding half way through the song and ending with a big finale. There are songs, like Monster, that will reassure the more hesitant listeners that Mumford & Sons are still the same four lads. They’ve just plugged in their guitars and turned the volume up. I am very happy that I didn’t base my opinion on the few singles they released because listening to the full album is totally different than a single song. Mumford & Sons and their team did an incredible job mixing the album so that each song flows so easily into the next that it’s almost like listening to one song that’s an hour long.
Wilder Mind may not become my favorite Mumford & Sons album but I look forward to the memories and experiences that I will connect with it. Like their other two albums it took several years for me to love them the way I do now and I can sense that it will be similar with this one. To those fans who are disappointed with this new music I encourage you to open your minds and your ears. We all love the original Mumford & Sons sound; it’s what brought us to them in the first place. As their fans, we should support them as they explore other aspects of their sound and if you miss the kick-drum then go back and reminisce with Sigh No More, but don’t complain about a band that is growing. Your being upset about change is a clue that you need to take a step back and think about how attached you are to a specific outcome. As Buddha said, “Attachment is the root of all suffering,” so take a deep breath and let your mind be a little wilder.
©Mumford and Sons 2015
You can check out Mumford & Sons’ website here
Autumn Micketti 