Trading in their banjos for cliched rock sounds has not served Mumford & Sons well on their third record
Mumford & Sons/ Wilder Mind
No other band is more responsible for bringing the world the twang of furiously-strummed banjos than London folk-rock quartet Mumford & Sons.
Their 2012 Grammy-winning LP, Babel, was the fastest-selling album that year in the UK and the biggest-selling album in the US. Their brand of clomping acoustic spread like a virus, and soon seeped into the music of One Direction (Story of My Life), James Blunt (Bonfire Heart), Avicii (Wake Me Up) and Imagine Dragons (I Bet My Life).
But with success came a throng of detractors who refused to buy into their faux rustic folk sound, and were certainly not charmed by the band’s penchant for clothing that revolves around waistcoats and suspenders. With their third album Wilder Mind, however, the lads resolutely bid adieu to all of the things that had defined M&S. Gone are the days of banjos, accordions and neckerchiefs; time to say hello to electric guitars, synths and leather jackets.
Lead single Believe arrives without the band’s trademark old-timey feel. Featuring twinkling keyboards, stadium-ready guitar riffs, and roaring drums, the song seems to have taken its cue from Coldplay’s electronic-infused Midnight Stories. “So open up my eyes, tell me I’m alive/This is never gonna go our way if I’m gonna have to guess what’s on your mind,” frontman Marcus Mumford emotes, and you can imagine an arena filled with the tiny flickering flames of lighters.
The Wolf, on the other hand, sees the sonically converted foursome rocking out over a tightly-wound arrangement built on fast-paced guitars and electric bass. While Believe sounds like the latter-day Coldplay, this one recalls alt-rock groups such as Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon. The same could be also said for tracks like album opener Tompkins Square Park and Just Smoke. The rest of the album finds Mumford and Co oscillating between the miserabilist indie-rock of The National (Snake Eyes) and the stadium-rock platitudes of U2 (Broad-Shouldered Beasts).
Given how much Wilder Mind resembles all these different bands, it’s clear that Mumford & Sons are struggling to come up with a new sound to replace their old one. While it’s commendable that they wanted to explore a different route (even if doing so risks alienating their fan base), they have failed to deliver anything original enough to really be taken seriously. Everything has been done before, not to mention better, so perhaps they should have stuck to what they know. n
THE PLAYLIST
Inspirative/ Why
Up-and-coming post rock quintet Inspirative has rolled out a follow-up to their stellar first single Kae A Deed [Just the Past], and it’s equally amazing. Clocking in at seven minutes, 30 seconds, Why is a slow-burner that seamlessly weaves together melancholy guitars and keys with pummelling guitar dissonance. Hold on tight because the track’s stunning last minute will surge mercilessly towards you, leaving you gasping for air. A truly sublime listening experience from one of the most exciting ambient rock bands to have emerged from Thailand.
The Chemical Brothers/ Sometimes I Feel So Deserted
Following their contribution to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 soundtrack last year, veteran British electronic duo the Chemical Brothers are gearing up for their proper return with Born in the Echoes. Arriving five years after 2010’s Further, the pair’s eighth album will include lead single Sometimes I Feel So Deserted, a festival-ready banger that teeters on the edge of blissed-out electro-industrial. “And sometimes I feel so deserted/But I hold on ’cause help is on the way,” sings an unidentified vocalist in a soaring falsetto. It’s uplifting and exhilarating at the same time.
Lana Del Rey/ Life Is Beautiful
It seems like the ever-brooding songstress has found her calling in crafting songs for movies with strong, conflicted female characters. On the back of Big Eyes from the film of the same name, Once Upon a Dream (Maleficent) and Young and Beautiful (The Great Gatsby), Del Rey gives us Life is Beautiful. It’s the lead single from the soundtrack of romance fantasy The Age of Adaline, starring Blake Lively and Michiel Huisman. At its core, the song doesn’t stray too far from LDR’s darkly vintage aesthetics and string flourishes, the very qualities that make it a perfect accompaniment to the film.
Kurt Cobain/ And I Love Her
Last week’s HBO premiere of Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the first authorised documentary about the Nirvana frontman, features Cobain’s previously unreleased acoustic cover of the Beatles’ classic And I Love Her. The demo, discovered by director Brett Morgen during the making of the film, finds the alt-rock icon eschewing the original’s breeziness and delivering a haunting rendition of the Paul McCartney-penned track alongside his signature sombre guitar riffs. The end result is an emotionally raw cover that should delight and surprise both Nirvana as well as the Beatles fans.
Brandon Flowers/ I Can Change
With his latest offering I Can Change, Brandon Flowers has morphed into a full-fledged ’80s revivalist. Lifted from his second solo effort The Desired Effect, the track follows in the footsteps of Flowers’ recent singles Can’t Deny My Love, Still Want You and Lonely Town. Sampling Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy and featuring a spoken snippet from Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant, the mid-tempo jam discusses ways that one is willing to change for that special someone. It also proves yet another successful reappropriation of the ’80s sound from the Killers frontman. n
