Skip to main content

Mumford And Sons End The Wait For A New Single

With their sophomore album Babel seven weeks away, Mumford & Sons have finally released the (presumably) first single from it in the form of a placeholder video for I Will Wait.

For those who aren't hip to the lingo I just made up, a placeholder video is a video a band posts to whet their fans' insatiable appetites whilst putting together a proper video. You know, those "official lyric videos" and the like. In Mumford & Sons' case, they just let the camera roll en route to Red Rocks:



As for that song? It's undeniably Mumford in that's it's dripping with the old-timey charm that made Sigh No More such a massive and unexpected platinum smash. My primary concern is that it lacks a bit of the hunger, that fire that was ever-present on their debut. It's hard to replicate that fire once you've sold a million records (especially in this day and age), so it's not really a shock. But, just compare the chorus of I Will Wait to, say, Little Lion Man. The difference in intensity is borderline disturbing. To its credit, the tune is more refined from a songwriting perspective, and one also has to concede the possible fatigue from the relentless touring that happened around the album's recording; my hope for Babel is that the inevitable loss of desire to "make it" is mostly made up for with improved overall songs. We'll see soon enough, I guess.

Babel is out September 25 on Glassnote.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Year in Rock 2025

  Alright, I've got some explaining to do.   By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but:   a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Year in Rock 2014: And the Winners Are...

It's been a long year, and another great one for rock n' roll. While the pop charts were overrun with barely legals obsessed with their asses, rock soldiered on undeterred even as pundits (hell, in some cases even rockers themselves) mourned the genre. Sure, rock didn't dominate the money game in 2014, but that shouldn't evoke sad nostalgia and eulogies. Even for as little perceived impact rock music made, a hell of a lot happened if people had only paid attention. From grizzled vets adding jewels to their crown (Springsteen, Petty) to new beginnings (Against Me!, Antemasque) to happy returns (Faith No More, The Tea Party) and all points in between, rock continued to thrive, evolve and thrill in 2014. Enough talk. It's winning time. Your Year in Rock winners for 2014 are...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hear Me Out: Why Do A Greatest Hits Album?

So, Silversun Pickups announced a "singles collection" today. Now, I'm no expert on "singles" or "hits" compilations; even so, I've got to say this announcement threw me for a loop for a couple of reasons. For starters, isn't it a bit early for a band like Silversun Pickups to be given the "greatest hits" treatment? I know, I know, it's a "singles collection". But, come on; it looks like a greatest hits album, it smells like a greatest hits album, so on so forth. More importantly, though, are these really necessary entities in 2014? I mean, who is this album for? Casual fans who've already downloaded the singles they like or established fans who are expected to shill out $15 for one new song?
1 comment
Read more