More Bible and banjo-bashing...but don't they do it well

Album: Babel
Artist: Mumford & Sons
Label: Island, Glassnote
Released: September 21, 2012
Peak chart position/sales: Stats not available yet.

RATING: 4/5 stars

In many ways, a multi-Platinum debut album is a curse. After the critics have stopped tripping over superlatives in their haste to acclaim the musical genius in question, the band must check out of Hotel Cloud Nine and come back to reality: the encore performance. Given that my gripe with Sigh No More was "is this all they can do?", it was with much anticipation that I waited for the album that the band claimed would "attract a different audience and broaden people's view" of them. What with their warnings that this new style might lose them fans and that they wanted to kick the "folk" label so readily ascribed to their earlier work, one was apt to think that Mumford & Sons had come of age, musically speaking.

Therefore I enjoyed track 1 with a hearty dose of laughter. And track 2. And track 3. It is the very same wild acoustic flaying, the very familiar arpeggiated banjo riffs, the similarly lyrical poetry of anguished love all over again and, if anything, Marcus Mumford is shouting louder than he did on "Little Lion Man". I'm sorry boys, I really tried to keep a straight face, but you cannot say you made "sacrifices" for something that sounds about as far out of your comfort zone as beards and banjos.

But before I get too caught up in critical glee, let's talk about the rest of the album. Because this is a better record than Sigh No More. Oh yes. For all the borrowed success from their previous album, there are far more nuances on Babel (which is not to say that it is actually nuanced - but they're getting better at subtlety), far more heart and no shortage of eloquent literary expression (complete with another beautifully articulated "f*cked" in "Broken Crown"). This, coupled with a smoother-sounding maturity and less regard for widespread accessibility, is the confidence that I was hoping they would prove. Mumford fans need not worry - the new sound is still safely within the domain of their fandom - but previous haters might also earn new respect for them.

From here.

After the initial adrenalin rush it's time for a whinge session as only Marcus Mumford can do. "You cut me doooooown" he moans atop thoughtful finger-picking on "Holland Road", the first in a trilogy of wailed curses. That's before the resolute banjo jangling sets in an epic crescendo again. But there's change in the air: 5'21" epic "Lover's Eyes" finally raises goosebumps and establishes the album as a confident move in a (slightly) new direction. With soaring harmonies ala "Roll Away Your Stone", the increasingly dramatic recapitulations build into almost unbearable tension - but this time it's a more polished sound. There's definitely a more serious feel to Babel. The second half digs deep into soulful catharsis with less reliance on crowd-pleasing musical dynamite, but at times (the almost painfully whiny "Reminder") still reeks of the self-indulgence which they are apt to slip into. Yet the band's increasing confidence in the studio is showing, and breath-taking numbers like "Hopeless Wanderer" shine in their emotive rawness without the rough edges.

But for all its new sounds and admirable constancy, Babel is a very logical step from Sigh No More - upping the ante somewhat, yet essentially reviving what made M&S successful in the first place. It's an excitingly mature, new and improved portfolio that will surely explode all over a live stage, but I'm still left wondering: can Mumford write about anything but broken hearts and sin? How much longer can he rip off literary works without ending up in court? And what would actually happen if they tried to crescendo without banjo? Perhaps the answer is that they wouldn't be Mumford & Sons anymore, so I'm going to let well alone, turn up the volume and enjoy a refreshing update on an impressive sound.

But they're still folk.

Listen to: Babel, Lovers' Eyes, Hopeless Wanderer

Is it worth my $$$? - I dived in and bought the deluxe version in good faith...what could have been a rash move has ended rather well.

10 Artists In 10 Words

I know, I know, the whole of February AND March just went by without me reviewing anything.

Not to say I haven't been listening to a lot of music - I just haven't been able to get words to screen in a coherent review, due to uni swallowing my life life's busy-ness. But just to show you guys how much I love you and to give you a little something to read as I collect my thoughts on my recent listenings, I thought it might be rather fun to present you with not one, but TEN micro-reviews. In one post. Coz I'm that awesome  guilty.

So. This is not a definitive list of 'best artists'. It's not even my personal top 10. Rather, here are 10 musical groups/solo acts that I think everyone needs to have an opinion on. But because I have an assignment due on Wednesday for your convenience, I've summed up their reputation in just 10 words each. Goodbye sentence structure...

10 ARTISTS IN 10 WORDS

1. The Beatles

Mop tops + fearless musical experimentation = worldwide obsession. YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!



2. Frank Sinatra

Incredible lungs. Brassy blasts. Tweaks heart-strings. Kicks Buble's ass.



3. Elvis Presley

10 words cannot outline this man's influence. Iconic. Iconic. Iconic.


4. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

New Jersey gangsters sing four-part harmony with THAT falsetto.

5. Simon and Garfunkel

Poetry sung a third apart. Garfunkel clearly avoiding Simon's hairdresser.

6. Queen

Bulsara becomes Mercury. Opera meets rock. "Bohemian Rhapsody" blows minds.

7. U2

Loud-mouthed political activist riles crowds with ranty rock anthems.

8. Coldplay

College mates create stadium-fillers. Then wear elephant suits. WHY.




9. Mumford and Sons

Poetry and adrenalin. Shirts and waistcoats. The banjo becomes cool.



10. Adele

She loved. She lost. She ruptured a vocal chord complaining.

2011: my year in music reviews

Best new album: Reflecting back on this year, I realise I haven't listened to even half the new music that's been released...remember the reason I started this blog was because I am shamefully lazy at exploring new music properly. But from what I have heard floating around the airwaves I have to say Gotye's Making Mirrors impressed me rather a lot, so it can bear this prestigious title for 2011. It is both refreshing and reassuring to see such new and original innovation emerging amongst all the Jessie J and Nicki Minaj.

Worst new album: I'm sure Lady GaGa's latest offering would have qualified, but I have denied myself the displeasure of sitting through that and so will give this anti-award to The Kooks' Junk Of The Heart. On the upside, it was completely forgettable.

Favourite musical purchase: The Original Broadway Cast recording of JERSEY BOYS. Beautifully updated versions of epically classic songs became without a doubt my most-listened-to album of 2011. So. much. love.

Favourite review: Definitely going to give this one to Tom Waits' epic Raindogs - such a sophisticated and eclectic collection of originals gave me much delicious listening material that was beautiful to attempt to illustrate for you guys.

Most tortuous review: I have to be honest with you here dear readers...I chickened out of one review this year. Yes, I, The Wanna-Be Music Journo, who has sat through the pain of Lady GaGa, admitted defeat in the face of one album. I began with my best objective ears on and ended rather soon after by pressing 'stop' and backing slowly away from my laptop in the middle of track 3. The offending album? Joanna Newsom's Ys. I couldn't. stand it. However, I plan to return and make it through the album dead or alive just to review it for you all. Stay tuned for the carnage later this summer...

Most surprising discovery: Nothing could have surprised me more than my newfound love for glockenspiel music, resulting in my purchase of Rockabye Baby!'s U2 album. Glock 'n roll dudes!

Album that elicited the largest volume of 'meh': The 'meh' reaction is surely the most terrifying of emotions applicable to the job of a reviewer. Such albums fall into the chasms of indifference, forever doomed to a life of limbo somewhere between Flipping Fantastic and Utterly Abysmal. Sadly, this title presents me with a difficult decision...but it definitely settles somewhere between Florence + The Machine's Lungs and Michael Buble's Christmas.

Most forgettable over-played radio-trash: Let's please not mention Rebecca Black or Friday ever, ever again...for her sanity and mine, okay? And if the radio stopped playing Adele I might actually be able to contemplate the thought of reviewing her without screaming.

New favourite band for 2011: This one has to go to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, once again courtesy of Jersey Boys. Don't roll your eyes at me. I'm certain I would have been a fan a long time ago, had I been able to find a more comprehensive collection of Four Seasons originals, but the epicness that was the stage musical has now opened the flood gates for my intense Jersey-love. This won't be the last you hear of this. I said, don't roll your eyes!

Most anticipated 2012 release: Word on the street was that Mumford & Sons' new album would be in my eager mitts before the Harbour Bridge explodes with fireworks, but with no projected release date as yet, a 2012 would seem to be on the cards. With rumours of a very different sound from Sigh No More, the band seem set to prove their versatility, resulting in much excitement from me.

Next on the list...
I'm craving 70s, 80s and some noughties alternative, so:

• Sufjan Stevens' Illinois
• The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds
• Angus & Julia Stone's A Book Like This
• Traffic's John Barleycorn Must Die
• The Grateful Dead's American Beauty
• The Velvet Underground's The Velvet Underground
• The Who's Tommy
• And yes...Joanna Newsom's Ys. When I can face it.

Bring on the holidays :D

Sigh No More…coz you’ll be breathless

Album: Sigh No More
Artist: Mumford & Sons www.mumfordandsons.com
Label: Island, Glassnote (US)
Release date: 5 October 2009
Peak chart position/sales: (AUS) 1, 2x Platinum (UK) 3, 3x Platinum (US) 2, Gold


RATING: 3.5/5 stars.

As the average person would no doubt figure out, there is no way Marcus Mumford is the father of any of his band mates – but it’s a rustic, family association of a name and lends an air of authenticity to this London folk rock four-piece, fitting the “in the family” image of the folk genre. Recognised alongside Laura Marling, Noah And The Whale and Johnny Flynn as the forerunners of the London folk movement, the four young men that make up Mumford & Sons have already established themselves an enthusiastic fan base and snatched the Best British Album Award at the BRITs with this, their debut album. In case you haven’t noticed, folk is no longer about old men twanging ancient banjos.

All the same, I have to admit I didn’t expect quite so much full-blast energy. This is not the kind of album that handles you gently, for all its elegant lyricism and folky fingerpicking. It dances around for a few seconds before punching you in the face, picking you up, throwing you down, grabbing your heart, tearing you up and then reassembling you just as the last note dies away. The sort of music that sparks so much energy you probably burn calories just listening to it. Excited yet?

Sigh No More opens with its title track, a breathtaking gospel-choir-style chorus of harmonies which builds into a jangling rush of banjo, thumping beats and lead singer Marcus Mumford’s throaty, raw vocals which you want to cheer on till the end. Similarly upbeat followers “The Cave” and “Winter Winds” provide a follow-up punch before the rage-filled post-break-up ode “White Blank Page” ups the angst factor in a stunning tirade of heartache. Mumford & Sons have a distinctive arrangement, layering a powerful mix of banjo, guitar, mandolin, double bass, accordion, keyboard and occasional brass lines (“Winter Winds”) that never fails to create a pulsing energy and thrilling drive. Mumford’s lyrics, while at times a little clunky, mostly hold up their end quite admirably on this album, drawing on subject matter from romance/failed romance/confused romance to a naive but heartfelt spirituality which permeates “Sigh No More” (“There is a design/ An alignment”) as well as later tracks “I Gave You All” and “Timshel”.

It is not until “Little Lion Man” however – the centrepiece of the album – that the true meaning of adrenalin is realised as M&S pull out every stop, from the impossibly catchy guitar jangle, to the dramatic acapella break just before the explosion of climactic (mostly banjo) madness, to the blatant profanity that provides a minor social taboo stumbling block in a chorus that begs to be belted out at the top of one’s lungs, regardless of circumstance. Never before has ‘mind blown’ been such an accurate description of an album’s affect. ‘Amazing’ also comes to mind. But about halfway through this non-stop awesome I got…tired. The overwhelming earnestness, melodrama and Mumford’s heartfelt deliveries wore me out and I wished there was a bit of Villagers or Marling-like respite from the full-blown awesome. “Roll Away Your Stone” sounded like the answer to my need for a breather…but no, it erupts into spirited banjo and testosterone-fuelled guitar rhythms again, as do its fellows. Every quiet intro is a magnificent build-up, every chorus an excuse for wild banjo-playing and a hollering vocal, with only a couple of exceptions that teeter on the edge of musical TNT nonetheless. Eventually M&S dropped the ante with the quieter but menacing “Dustbowl” and the aptly titled “After The Storm”, leaving me feeling as though I’d been knocked off my feet and certainly without breath to sigh with (their purpose, I assume).

It is obvious that M&S are suckers for whacking on the big rock ‘moment’ and while they do it amazingly well (and I really mean amazingly), a creeping irritation at the lack of variety may develop. Not just because of the lack of emotional balance which is oh-so-important to a well-planned album, but because of the worrying thought – is this all they’ve got?



I’m sincerely hoping the answer is no. Mumford & Sons have an enthusiasm, personality and soul that will carry them far once they get used to this fame thing. The overwhelmingly wholehearted effort gave the impression of a young band running scared, pulling every bit of awesome out of their bag all at once so as not to fall short. They have yet to thoroughly convince me in the talent department, although “Timshel” already stands out as a gorgeous contrast and hopefully an inkling of where M&S may choose to explore now that they have success on their side. Sigh No More has made me want more of Mumford & Sons (much more!) but I also want improvement.

But for now let us palm off what is probably just the growing pains of a fledgling band and instead enjoy the epic proportions of an admirable debut album. This is another of those bands I heard about early, was lazy in researching/listening to, finally given the nudge by friends and now heartily wish I’d picked up earlier, before becoming a fan meant jumping on the bandwagon. But what the heck – this bandwagon is well worth the ride!




Is it worth my $$$? – My iPod now looks naked without this track listing on it – a situation which I intend to remedy shortly, funds permitting. However, if you weren’t entirely convinced (or repulsed), save your pennies for their next release – M&S may fill that room for improvement with a bundle more tricks that have yet to emerge from their manly rolled-up sleeves.


Listen to: Winter Winds, Little Lion Man, Timshel