Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More

It’s fair to say that that 2009 has been a pretty great year for albums and while mentally checking the more impressive releases of the year past there seems to be a much healthier British contingent than there would have been in the last couple of years. The Twilight Sad, Bat For Lashes, Wild Beasts and Noah & The Whale have all made records to be proud of, and Sigh No More sees Noah playmates Mumford and Sons produce a debut album that deserves to be held in the same honorable company...maybe even the cream of this proverbial crop.

Let’s get rid of those NATW comparisons right away, another London based four piece from the same somewhat incestuous nu-folk scene, if you were being overly simplistic you might say The Mumford sound is a pretty even mix of the rustic pop of the first and darker more world weary sound of Fink and co’s second record, but such comparisons would be doing a disservice to the band to only talk of them in the context of their more famous friends.

From the opening title track, it’s Marcus Mumford’s gravelly voice that dominates the record, and he has the depth, wisdom and timbre of a man older than he is. In terms of influences Sufjan Stevens is perhaps the most relevant touchstone. Whilst Mumford’s lyrics are not explicitly religious they do contain a certain spiritual zeal, the chorus of ‘Sigh No More’ being a case in point as he sings of a “love that will no longer betray or dismay you, it will set you free/make you more like the man you were meant to be”. There is also The Cave with it’s refrain of “I’ll find strength through pain/I will change my ways”.

Perhaps those lyrics look a bit cheesy written down, but executed with such belief and sincerity and carried perfectly by the band it’s pretty powerful stuff. There are also hints of Sufjan in the trumpet playing throughout, particularly the melodious ‘Winter Winds’.

It’s not perfect though by any means, musically there is a deal of repetition by which the band only get away with thanks to the strength of songwriting; dizzying banjo arpeggios are often employed to pick up the choruses on the quicker, more bluegrassy numbers and drive them along although they use this trick just one too many times.

‘A White Blank Page’ is a particularly weighty performance as Mumford fantasizes a letter to someone now beyond reach as dramatic violins and sudden chunks of piano melt with an angry yet sorrowful vocal performance. Despite the mournful surface of the song there does seem to be a sense of redemption by the song’s end.

Marcus Mumford is clearly someone who believes in learning from mistakes, or at least being made a stronger person by them. Latest single ‘Little Lion Man’ is more rueful, less vitriolic but finds a kind of all encompassing relief in it’s confession of wrong doing, although the less than sly radio edited cry that he “fucked it up this time” may prevent it becoming a radio smash...not that I give a shit about the radio and its corporate bullshit, but I digress.

The level of quality and attention to detail on display vindicates the amount of time the band took to get the record out and although it does trail slightly towards the end but what really impresses is the way that Mumford & Sons ideals and personal philosophy seep through the lyrics of the record to make it a far deeper and overall more rewarding listen than those made by their more chart-friendly peers.

This is highly recommended for fans of The Decemberists, Noah And the whale, The Steeldrivers..and folk music in general.

Artist: Mumford and Sons
Album: Sigh No More
Genre: Folk, Nu-Folk
Country: England
Overall Rating: 8.5 of 10 stars
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