Mumford & Sons: A Wilder Mind
4.0/10
Mumford & Sons have never really struck a chord in my heart. Their signature anthemic style folk ballads have never really impressed me in anyway, but I can certainly see the appeal. The band brought a unique, driving sound to the mainstream that was pretty hard pressed to find nowadays. The band seemed to be on a roll with fans and critics alike, but still I have never found anything special about them. Sure, they play Banjos and a bunch of more old fashioned instruments, but I really think that this band relies on a bunch of gimmicks to get them through. Remember this is just my opinion, but I believe their songs are too corny, they are predictable, and they all sound so similar. I just feel like there is nothing particularly new about the band in general, so when I heard they were prepping a new album I'll admit I was not that curious to find out what was coming next. Then I remembered that it is never appropriate to simply write off a band, so I decided to give this album a try. After hearing the initial singles off the album, I knew this record was a sonic shift for the band. This prospect excited me, and I was really eager to see if this band could finally win me over, but yet again I just find myself extremely disappointed. Wilder Mind is different for the band, but it is literally the most generic album I've heard all year. Generic is not always necessarily bad, but when you have the musical talent of a band like Mumford & Sons it is really sad to see all the bland and poorly layered tracks on here. While I did hate the banjo led anthems, I liked them more than this because at least those songs showed a little character. These new tracks literally sound like any old indie rock band, and it the gig just feels old. While I do like indie, I just have to say this thing sounds forced and just flat out plain. I still believe these guys can make something great, but to me it still feels like they are wasting time appealing to the mainstream and not really focusing on what really matters: the music.
Do not get me wrong, this album isn't atrocious or anything, it just wastes a lot of opportunities. Some tracks on here actually work quite well such as the opener: Tompkins Square Park. This track balances a driving beat with a very sentimental set of lyrics. Marcus Mumford feels like he is telling a story here, and it feels very close to home for him. He longs to get to a better place, and on this track the band breaks new ground. Aaron Desner's of The National worked on production on this album, and he would be proud of this track. The very eerie and minimalistic guitar rhythm is very National-esque, and it fits very well with the song overall. This song kicks off the album great, but Believe immediately lets the listener down. It tries to be this big anthem, but it really actually fails quite hard. The end sounds absolutely tiny, but I know that they wanted that thing to sound huge, it was the only thing that made sense. Perhaps this could have been a production error, but it still shouldn't have made the album. The Wolf is a great cut that reminds me a lot of Interpol. It uses it's catchiness to its advantage, but it is pretty rocking and it could actually benefit from less production still a great track. I'm not going to go into the rest of the songs individually, but almost every other song on here fails. With the exception of Broad-Shouldered Beasts and Snake Eyes nothing really captures me. A lot of these songs try to hit home at a lyrical level or sentimental value, but really these songs usually just do not even hold my attention. I feel like these are just weak attempts of song s I've already heard before, and for that reason I cannot appreciate this album too much. It's listenable, but so much more could have been done, and I really feel like perhaps the Mumford & Sons need to stop thinking about what they want to sound like, and start thinking about what they do sound like. They need to be able to acknowledge sometimes they get too corny or catchy, but they have to use these things to their advantage. Tracks like The Wolf show them progressing in this form, but still some tracks just show them doing things I feel like they cannot pull off.
Overall the Wilder Mind is not really all too wild at all, but it certainly is not awful. I just think this album could have really benefited from some more thought, and some more work. Everything kind of seems rushed and sloppily made to me. The band plugged in guitars, but if you still loved that Banjo sound there will certainly will some catchy songs you'll like. I just cannot say that this band has made a crazy, must-listen to record when I can find something by a somewhat unknown artist that sounds almost exactly the same. While this album has its moments, the wildest ride I experienced was my rollercoaster of disappointment. I know some people enjoyed this, but for me I just can't dig it, sorry.
Best Songs: Tompkins Square Park, The Wolf, Broad-Shouldered Beasts, Snake Eyes
Worst Songs: Believe, Wilder Mind, Just Smoke, Monster, Ditmas, Only Love, Hot Gates
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