It’s already been “revealed” that London nu-folk superstars Mumford and Sons have had a dramatic makeover: they’ve ditched the banjo, scrapped the accordion, booted the kick-drum to touch and donated their tweeds ‘n’ braces to Oxfam. “Rustic” has been replaced by “epic” and they’ve set sights on a place among the stadium-filling, festival- headlining indie elite.
While a band abandoning their fanbase and their musical roots makes for a great story, the truth is more complicated. While Mumford and Sons have embraced their inner indie gods, in other ways they have remained substantially unchanged. The differences are mostly superficial – with the group retaining the heartfelt sensibility that defined multi-million selling debut Sigh No More and follow- up Babel.
What about the tunes? The low-key single ‘Believe’ has a keyboard-derived atmospheric ambiance which ignites into a crescendo of guitars and wailing voices. ‘The Wolf ’ is a chugging rocker in a Springsteen/ Hold Steady mode (and
a decent one too), while ‘Tompkins Square Park’ veers towards jangly power pop. There is at times a tendency towards safeness: it is understandable that the mid-tempo title track has been widely compared to Snow Patrol and Coldplay. Still, it would be unfair to suggest they’ve gone indie- by-numbers. An impressive sonic adventurism characterises ‘Broad Shouldered Beast’, which begins with a somber, bolero-like rhythm, building into an anthemic climax (with a chord progression that somehow recalls Randy Crawford’s ‘One Day I’ll Fly Away’). Aiming for a kind of Radiohead (‘Street Spirit’) effect but falling short in the melody department, the mournful ‘Snake Eyes’ is a slow-burner; ‘Cold Arms’ is another bare-boned outing, with just electric guitar; ‘Monster’ blends Mark Knopfler guitar with a hip-hop beat; and ‘Just Smoke’ boasts arguably the strongest vocal here.
The family firm might have gone global and the product comes wrapped in fancier packaging – but the essence remains pretty much the same.

Key Track - 'Just Smoke'