New Mumford & Sons | Babel

New Mumford & Sons | Babel September 26, 2012

When Mumford & Sons first album, Sigh No More, hit the shelves in 2010, there was something so refreshing and novel, yet so timeless about it that immediately hooked me and easily became my favorite album of the year. And I wasn’t the only one; somehow this British folk/rock/Americana outfit was quickly sharing airwaves with Beyoncé and Katy Perry. People couldn’t get enough of these folksy Brits with Appalachian sensibilities. Especially within the Christian crowd: lyrics such as, “It seems that all my bridges have been burned / and you say ‘that’s exactly how this grace thing works,” stirred the spirituality of a bevy of young Christians.

And in yesterday’s interview with NPR, the band acknowledged their spiritual roots, as well as their other important influences,

“Mumford grew up a preacher’s kid, and so it’s natural to presume that the new album’s title, Babel, takes on a certain biblical relevance. But the idea is far wider.

“There are matters of the heart and sort of spiritual considerations that most humans have—explorative, really,” Mumford says. “We’re inspired by such a range of things between the four of us—almost every genre of music has been embraced by one of us at some time, and just about anything can inspire a song.”

This tendency towards the eclectic shows up on their new album in the form of absolutely original sounds as well as timeless folk-inspired harmonies and biblical imagery. Like their first album, Babel is an absolute delight to listen to, with plenty of spiritual and emotional depth to satisfy.

Check out the first single from the album, “I Will Wait.”


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