Pop Music Notes

New Mumford and Sons. If this doesn’t put you in a good mood, I don’t know what will.

In going back through my posts, I realized I have not mentioned the Mumfords previously, but that will change. There are few musical acts right now that excite me as much as they do, and I already have tickets to see them at Red Rocks at the end of August. Sigh No More was a revelation to me, and since that album came out I have had it on a pretty regular rotation.

“I Will Wait” continues their alt-Celtic, alt-bluegrass sound that sounds traditional yet contemporary, but it sounds as if Marcus Mumford has discovered what will bring a live crowd to its feet to sing along. As a huge fan of their live shows (this one will be number three), I’m glad to see a band give the fans what they want and still maintain their identity. If anything has changed, it seems that primary writer Marcus Mumford may have lightened up a bit: “I Will Wait” has a much more upbeat message than pretty much everything on Sigh No More.

Raise my hands
Paint my spirit gold
And bow my head
Keep my heart slow

Whether this is an anomaly or a precursor of a more optimistic theme, the Mumfords have successfully whipped their fans into a frenzy for their new opus Babel, which comes out on September 25th. If you can’t wait, “I Will Wait” is available for digital download now.