“Oh, man is a giddy thing,” says the first track of Mumford & Sons’ latest release, Sigh No More, and in relation to listening to this album, truer words were never sung. I listen to a lot of music. I love a lot of music. Rarely, however, am I ecstatic upon first listen. While listening to Sigh No More, I was beyond. Moved. Grinning. Heart overflowing. From opening vocal harmonies on par with Fleet Foxes to the final musing on life, death, and what you’re left with, Mumford & Sons delivers track after track of heartfelt abandon.
Encompassing influences from folk, bluegrass, and roots music, Mumford & Sons create foot-stomping assaults, using banjo, mandolin, upright bass, keys, and guitar as their weapons. Soul-bearing despair and triumphant cries of hope further push the agenda, a summation of what it is to live and feel.
The title track “Sigh No More” and “White Blank Page” stick with you long after the record has stopped spinning, somehow standing out above the other phenomenal cuts on the album. You can get a feel for the album as a whole by checking out the band’s video channel. And please do. Theirs is a sound that is truly spectacular.
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Sigh No More dropped 02.16.10.
Find out more at www.mumfordandsons.com.
Special thanks to Laura M. for alerting me to their existence.
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