The O2 is buzzing as fans wait for London folk pop lords Mumford & Sons to take the stage. The band have gone from strength to strength since their 2009 debut Sigh No More, with latest offering Babel storming the charts here and across the pond.
Oft-criticised for producing watered-down, (whisper it) mainstream folk – an unfair criticism in this reporter’s opinion – the Mumford live show does exactly what it says on the tin: serving feelgood folky anthems.
Kicking off with Babel’s title-track, Marcus & Co. invite both mass singalongs (‘Below My Feet’), and smoochy candlelit moments (‘Timshel’). It’s Sigh No More’s ‘Little Lion Man’ though that really gets this crowd going. As soon as its strummy opening bars ring out, practically the entire room is screaming along to every word.
And throughout the show, the boys give it their all. A six-piece orchestra helps lend their sound that extra oomph, with the band’s harmonies as spot-on as they are on record. Marcus shows us he’s no one-trick pony, hopping on drums for ‘Lover Of The Light’, while support act Dawes come back onstage for a lovely group rendition of ‘Awake My Soul’.
MAEVE HESLIN