Discovering the wilder mind in Mumford and Sons’ new album

Megan Murphy ’17 reviews the shifting style of band, Mumford and Sons.

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Meg Ingram

Meg Ingram plays an indie hit on her ukulele.

“Oh, babe, meet me in Tompkins Square Park. I wanna hold you in the dark.” These words begin the new album “Wilder Mind” from the Grammy-winning band, Mumford and Sons.  This classic folk-refining band, slowly slips from their banjo-plucking, stomp-and-clap sound to electric guitars and techno keyboards, signalling a transition in sound and style.

Released this past spring after a two year-hiatus from their Grammy-award winning album, “Babel”, the band has been promoting their album through interviews with companies such as Rolling Stone and Forbes. Wilder Mind” truly does release wilder mind among its listeners, especially with tracks such as “Believe” and “Broad Shouldered Beasts.” The album has more of a slow, steady rhythm, versus their old fast-pace one. The reviews of the album are going opposite directions.

Junior Ally Oppmann said, “I’m happy they decided to explore something different, but I wish they would go back to their old folk sound.”

Some iTunes reviews say similar things, referring the album to the devolution of Coldplay’s sound, saying that “all the passion and energy had been sucked out of it.”

Rolling Stones reported that only 249,000 copies of “Wilder Mind” were sold in the first week, which was a decrease in the band’s popularity as compared to 600,000 copies of Babel sold in 2012.

But junior Kristin Jacobsen doesn’t care what the numbers say. She said, “I’m in love with their new sound and happy that they explored new routes.” Her favorite song is “Snake Eyes” for its “plucky sound and soft vocals.”

Maybe as the months go on, “ Wilder Mind” will gain some promotion and popularity. But the band’s prediction in the song “Tompkins Square Park” may shadow their future career. “But no flame burns forever, oh no. You and I both know this all too well. And most don’t even last the night. No they don’t, they say they don’t.”