London, England's breakout indie folk sensations Mumford & Sons have arrived on the scene with their much heralded debut album, Sigh No More. The band has achieved the ever impossible goal of finding a way to make folk music much more accessible to the mainstream and weave intricate storytelling in between to create one of the best debut albums in recent memory.
The album kicks off with the title track, a fast paced, frenetic delight that introduces us to the vocal stylings of Marcus Mumford. The track starts off at a slow pace, but quickly picks up steam afterwards. My absolute favorite song off the album is "The Cave", a melodic, inspiring juggernaut that encapsulates all there is to love about the band, and is one track that you definitely won't get sick of and one that you won't get out of your head anytime soon. "Winter Winds" is a mellow, calm tune that is the perfect song to listen to while you're all snowed in or whether you're outside shoveling your driveway or just simply partaking in all the winter weather has to offer you. "Roll Away Your Stone" is another glistening track brimming with a host of instruments, including banjos and keyboard that will definitely get the juices flowing and allow you to listen to the song with a open mind. "I Give You All" is a powerful, somber affair that features Marcus's vocals once again offering up immediate notice of the emotions at stake here.
The disc's second half begins with "Little Lion Man", a song that I'm sure that you've all heard many times before leading up to the release of the album. The track is chock full of guitars, banjos, and accordion that all build up to a very entertaining affair. "Timshel" is a perfect reminder of all the cold and snow that has been surrounding us quite frequently lately. The song's delicate instrumentation triggers visions of all that winter has to bring to us. We start to draw the curtains on the album with "Awake My Soul", the song that best displays Marcus's exceptional vocal abilities and the way he syncs in with the array of instrumentation heard distinctly at the forefront. "Dust Bowl Dance" is the perfect balance in between to complement the next track "After The Storm" a melancholy, stripped down tune that sets the album's emotional barometer into high gear with gritty guitar riffs and deep, thoughtful musicianship from everyone involved that wraps up the album properly. Folk music has always had a small but loyal fanbase that has never gotten much recognition from the mainstream listening audience, but this album seems to have made folk music much more user accessible, and has made Mumford & Sons a major breakout artist with album sales approaching 500.000 and 2 Grammy nominations including Best New Artist at the upcoming ceremony on Feb. 13. In my mind, one of the sleeper albums of last year and some of the most talented guys that I've stumbled across in quite some time!
To sum it all up, Mumford & Sons have crafted a remarkably cohesive effort here that has shattered the dividing line between folk music and the mainstream world, and one that has made their music strike a emotionally signifying chord with the listener and one act that we'll definitely be seeing alot more from for some time to come!
Album Score: 4.5/5
Track Listing:
- Sigh No More
- The Cave
- Winter Winds
- Roll Away Your Stone
- White Blank Page
- I Gave You All
- Little Lion Man
- Timstel
- Thistle & Winds
- Awake My Soul
- Dust Bowl Dance
- After The Storm
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