Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

- Vancouver, British Columbia - In March 2010, I was perusing through the iTunes Top 200 Alternative charts and near the bottom, I found this unknown band, Mumford & Sons with an explicit warning next to its track, "Little Lion Man." With a name like Mumford & Sons, my initial suspicion was that this was some old man group, but the explicit warning made me take a second look. Today in March 2011, Mumford & Sons is practically a household name, recently coming off of Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song ("Little Lion Man"), and two singles, "Little Lion Man" and "The Cave" both performing very well on the charts.

Mumford & Sons is comprised of four English blokes (Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane), generally hailing from the Big Fog (read: London) and having made company with other folk acts like Noah and the Whale and Johnny Flynn. Marcus Mumford possess the role of lead vocals and while only being the tender age of 24, his voice sounds much older. He sings with a graveling depth, which sounds rather akin to something you'd expect from the band that plays every Tuesday night at the ol' English Pub around the corner. What sets his voice apart from just an ordinary pub band, however, is that his voice conveys a stronger sense of emotional vulnerability.

Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More (2010)And perhaps this is what makes Sigh No More an incredible album. The lyricism and subject matter of its songs are profound on a level that is currently unmatched by any other songwriter today under 25 years old. Throughout the album, we hear of a soul that is spiritually seeking, but not in the lame sense that every hipster today is claiming to be spiritual. This seeker makes no pretensions of being enlightened or connected with himself, but instead speaks of his checkered past and the pain that has been suffered in his quest. It is one of the most attractive qualities about this album.

I've written perhaps too much about how discouraging it is from a music lover's perspective that so much of the music being released by the mainstream record labels is over produced. Mumford and Sons doesn't make that same mistake. There is a raw folk sound to their recordings. Marcus Mumford doesn't hit every note perfectly, and if he did, then we'd have reason to be suspicious. This is an honest, transparent record.

Among the most impressive tracks on the album is "Little Lion Man," which is probably the song that most would recognize. While some might feel uncomfortable with Marcus Mumford's use of the word "fuck," I believe it adds so much to the song. It demonstrates an honest emotion on the part of songwriter; one that doesn't ask itself, "should I be honest about what I am trying to express, or should I switch the word out for the radio?" Most other uses of the word "fuck" in music today, unfortunately, appears to be more for image and establishing street cred on the part of nincompoops like 50 Cent, Lil' Wayne and Insane Clown Posse.

Also impressive is "Awake My Soul," which is a call to awaken one's self to the life ahead of them, while dealing with insecurities, weaknesses and pain. Many times when bands try to speak about such topics, it comes off as sappy or overly emotional, yet Mumford & Sons managed to find a good balance on this track. Ending the record is "After The Storm," which is placed very well in the context of the album. It acts as a fitting epilogue to the themes explored by Marcus Mumford and his emotional journey throughout the album.

Mumford & Sons performing liveSigh No More, simply put, is a great album, and worthy of all the praise that has been given to it recently. I say without reservation that it is the best album to come out in the past year from the mainstream music industry. There simply is no comparison in a year marked by repetitive pop and hip-hop acts that have contributed little to nothing to the future's memory of music in 2010.

NB: If you have any desire to see Mumford & Sons live, good luck. Their two previous shows in Vancouver both sold out within 5 minutes. Lame.

Rating: 5/5 Sour Grapes

Comments

[Alecia]

Joel, you are the whole reason I fell massively, massively in love with Mumford & Sons. They are, hands down, one of my favorite bands. So, thank you for telling me to buy their music. It was worth every freakin' penny! Also, nice use of the word nincompoop!

[Jordan Halleen]

I remember when I first heard Mumford & Sons. I was still living in Amsterdam, walking past some record shop when I heard some toe-tappin' banjo strummin' and had to look in to see what it was. When I first heard Mumford & Sons, I was quite pleased. They were good -- more than anything else, they struck me as rather... well, sweet.

After walking back to the hostel where I worked, I can clearly remember sitting down at the reception desk and (because there seemed to be nothing else to do) logging into Facebook. A friend of mine from home was online, and I told her about this band I had just heard. She looked them up on Grooveshark and said that they were alright, yeah.

One week after this event, I logged onto Facebook again -- and suddenly, it was as if Mumford himself had broadcast his music worldwide... not only this, but it was as though he had convinced everyone (even those people who I knew would never listen to music outside the realm of the Taylor Swift - T, Payne parallel) to adore his music. Every person's status was edited with Mumford & Sons lyrics ("oh, tell me now, what was my fault in loving you with all my heart?!" sigh, sob). Now, I thought this was a little weird.

But the phenomenon didn't die down. No. It continued -- if anything, it got worse. But when I'm listening to Mumford & Sons, honestly, I'll still say they're sweet. But a five star album? Hell no. Here is my reasoning for why I think that people have fallen in love with this album.

This album's success is indebted at least 50% (and probably more) to Christian adolescents and young adults who were previously sheltered from what society deemed to be 'real music,' thus forcing them to lead their lives in melancholy bitterness, not having the slightest idea that Kutless isn't exactly what the rest of the world considers quality music - not even melodically. So when bands like Pedro the Lion, Derek Webb, Sufjan Stevens, and now Mumford & Sons begin to write lyrics that might strike a biblical reference of some kind (although often misinterepreted), Christian kids freak out and suddenly Mumford & Sons is at the top of the charts. They have a serious strategy - and that strategy is to take youth groups by storm.

I will not say that Mumford & Sons is a bad band. I like their music. I might venture to give them 3.5 or 4 stars. It's decent. But come on -- I'm a Christian, I get the hype... but they're not that great! Have a listen to Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, Wilco -- hell, even the Decemberists... -- and you'll find bands that inspired the one you have come to adore so much... bands that have moved beyond 'sweet' and into truly life-changing.

Thank you.

[Joel Bain]

Wait, what? Kutless isn't the greatest band in the world? =P
In all seriousness though, I think I'd strongly disagree with you, Jordan, because the fact of the matter is, the Christian market is really not that big of a market. If you look at sales for Christian albums and singles, you'll see that it is rare to ever receive any sort of RIAA certification (gold/platinum, etc.). Mumford & Sons has achieved considerable success in the mainstream markets. The difference between Mumford & Sons and Sufjan Stevens is that while both probably have strong followings in Christian circles, Mumford & Sons has managed to do so in a profitable way.

In fact, I would argue more so that Sufjan Stevens' success is tied to the Christian bubble like you said, as his sales outside of the Christian market are not nearly as compelling as Mumford & Sons.

The reason why I believe Mumford & Sons has been so successful in my mind is simply because most of the material coming out of the mainstream music business is crappy. Thus when a band like Mumford & Sons releases some material that actually possesses some honest, emotional depth beyond talking about "bitches" and "hos," there is a market for it. This is not to say that most music coming out today is crappy, because that's not true. There is tons of independent music coming out that is great. However, as far as the mainstream music industry, Mumford & Sons is something great for once.

As for the Decemberists.....I'm not a huge fan of the direction that they have gone on their most recent album, but I will try to give it a good shake. =P

[Jordan Halleen]

Maybe so -- in comparison to most mainstream music on radio stations, I will agree that Mumford & Sons is great. But in the grand scheme of all that music which is not so widely acknowledged, it hardly compares.

Honestly, I think I just got so bored of them. They're fine. His voice sounds like a goat, and is really frustrating to listen to sometimes, but they're fine. Most of my reasons for disliking them now are based upon what I said above, although also just because I'm not that impressed.

The new Decemberists' album (if we're talkin' mainstream music here) actually found its way to #1 album for a day or two. It's great, although I'm not sure it's my favorite. They're from Portland, so I sort of have to love them. Plus they were my first concert. Colin Meloy's voice is pretty aggravating too, if listened to too many times. ;)

And Sufjan's a much better songwriter. Hahah.