Mumford and Sons has yet again left fans breathless with their newest album, ‘Babel.’
Becoming famous with their songs, ‘Little Lion Man’ and ‘The Cave,’ this Celtic style band has become a booming favorite across America, being played on almost every radio station.
‘Babel,’ released September 25, 2012, is the band’s second album after their 2009 release of ‘Sigh No More.’
“I was super excited for the new album because Mumford and Sons are such an awesome band,” junior Kaitlin Martindale said.
Many criticize Mumford and Sons for their lack of musical diversity. Each song has a similar sound due to its genre and often times, this prevents a varying of rhythms and tones throughout their music. Their newest album though, according to lead singer,Marcus Mumford, best represents their band and the sound that they wish to portray.
Releasing the single ‘I Will Wait’ early gave the album an automatic fan base, making it in the top 20 iTunes purchases within the first day of release. With a slightly different sound, the song gave listeners a preview of what Mumford and Sons next album, ‘Babel,’ would sound like, creating positive expectations for the musical genius that would be released a little over a month later.
“When ‘I Will Wait’ came out, I was really looking forward to ‘Babel’ because it was such a catchy song and I couldn’t stop listening to it,” Martindale said.
The first song which the album is named after, ‘Babel,’ started off with a bang with a mix of banjo, acoustic guitar and drum rhythms. Like most of the songs on the album, vocals range from fast to slow and display Mumford’s voice in the best way possible with his gritty yet soothing tone. The song, ‘Holland Road,’ is another familiar Mumford and Sons sound with the slow, emphasized beats and repetitive phrases. From beginning to end, the song presents the banjo as a very imperative instrument, giving Mumford and Sons the sound that fans expect. On the deluxe edition of the album, songs such as a cover of ‘The Boxer’ and ‘Where Are You Now’ are also included, making the album even more of a favorite for fans.
The album as a whole creates a warm feeling for the audience, mixing fast with slow while using a variety of instruments, many of which are Celtic, to generate a whole new type of ear candy. Listeners who enjoyed Mumford and Sons’ first album, ‘Sigh No More,’ no longer have to worry about the band changing its sound because ‘Babel’ not only holds the band’s original quality, but makes it even more enhanced.
The only evident changes, and slight disappointment, to Mumford and Son’s musical style is their emphasis on religion in many of their songs. Although pre-existent, religious influence was, in the past, indirect and could be metaphorical to other life events. But, in ‘Babel’, the use of religious vocabulary is much more persistent. The other disappointment was the decrease in fast-paced songs. On ‘Sigh No More’ there was an equal balance between quick and slow moving tempo. Although still existent in their newest album, the amount of slow songs are definitely higher than the amount of fast moving ones.
Mumford and Sons is definitely a band to watch for the next few years due to their musical genius. ‘Babel’ is unquestionably one of the best new albums to hit the market and will be blasting through your speakers for days due to its influential Celtic sound and powerful lyrics.
