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Which is why I was super excited and not entirely surprised when I heard that Wilder Mind was going to be a more rock influenced album, and I have to say that I'm overall pretty impressed with what they've put together.
The band recorded this third album in Brooklyn under the production of Aaron Dessner, of The National, and James Ford, producer for the Arctic Monkeys. You can hear the influence of both bands in the instrumentation of the songs; the electric guitars and driving percussion beats give the impression of a record designed to fill stadiums, and there is no doubt in my mind of Marcus Mumford and co.'s ability to do so. It is a broad, big indie rock sound that, as different as it is from their previous albums, still retains that Mumford & Sons feel.
Because here's the thing - you can still recognize them as Mumford & Sons, the brand. The new instruments and style don't do anything to mask what I like to think of as the "Mumford & Sons spirit." This collection of songs could easily have been set to their previous acoustic folk instrumentals and worked just as well; lyrically, the songs are still poetic and longing and poignant, and still have the ability to strike a chord within the listener (though I confess I do miss the literary allusions to be heard on Sigh No More and Babel. I love me some Shakespeare). The choruses and the build up to them still maintain the power and emotional truth the songs on those other albums did, able to touch something within that you barely even realized was there.
Frankly, musical elitism and this phenomenon people like to call "selling out" are ridiculous; just because bands evolve doesn't mean they're not making good music, and just because a certain kind of music isn't to your taste doesn't automatically make it bad. Even with their major musical overhaul, Mumford & Sons is still making beautiful music, and people would do well to give this album a chance. I have a feeling its one of those that you have to listen to a few times before it clicks. And when it finally does, you'll find yourself belting along to all of the choruses the way you would if you were blasting down an empty highway on a dusky summer night.
Some tracks to check out in particular:
"Tompkins Square Park," into "Believe" (seamless musical transitions!! It's gorgeous, guys, even though "Believe" itself is a teeny bit underwhelming compared to the rest)
"The Wolf"
"Just Smoke"
"Cold Arms"
"Only Love"
"Hot Gates"
Now that I've named nearly half of the album, you should really just go check it out. Happy listening!
