Mumford & Sons
Oh, now this lot are a little bit good. They sound like Noah & the Whale might do if they played a gig and Broken Records had been on the stereo as they drove to the venue. There’s bits of Johnny Flynn in there as well. The elements will be familiar to readers of Toad: a slightly ramshackle stumble of rolling folk music. They use plenty of banjos and brass and something of a joyous carnival atmosphere to the music.
The elements may all be pretty familiar, but they pull it off with sincerity, panache and energy. One of the most captivating talents they are showcasing here is the ability to mix the rattle of their more upbeat music with the genuinely sad, and just a little epic, sadness of their more lovelorn songs. In fact it is in the sweeping sadness that they escape from their folkier underpinnings – they’re plinking and strumming along and suddenly it all breaks free and starts swooping and turning through some sort of clear sky of melancholy, letting its direction be determined by the elusive currents of the upper atmosphere.
Maybe that’s where the Broken Records comparisons come in. Mumford & Sons don’t actually sound like them at all, they sound much more like the more English folk of Johnny Flynn and so on, but there is something of the grand about them somewhere, which kind of vaguely evokes Edinburgh’s epic racket-merchants in glimpses.
There’s nothing to buy as yet, but their EP will be available on their MySpace page in the next couple of days, and there’s a tour to accompany its release which will be bringing it through these parts – well vaguely: the Captain’s Rest in Glasgow – in the next couple of days. Having heard three of the four songs on the EP I would really recommend you try and catch them and pick up a copy of the EP.
Mumford & Sons – Awake My Soul
Holy ballsack these guys are great. Thanks for this. I’m going to contact them tonight.
Fuck, that’s good.
Fully agreed, what I’ve heard of that whole EP is really special, perhaps even more so than the first releases by quite a few of those London and home counties contemporaries. You’re closer with comparisons than you might think, as the singer/lead member Marcus Mumford is also in Laura Marling’s band (and Marling is in N&TW, and Johnny Flynn has associations with them, and so on and so forth)
Wow, these guys really are a bit lovely. Doesn’t happen as often as I’d like but this stuff made me stop work to just sit at my desk and listen and be happy. Really really good.
Christ, I like these guys but this is one of my most popular posts for ages. The Daily Growl is the gentleman you have to thank actually – I should have credited him in the original write-up.
I really like this. Despite the name.
Yeah, the name could be a lot better, but once you’ve chosen, you’re kind of stuck with it so there’s no time for regrets.
I actually like the name. I think it works quite well.
what if it was steptoe and son – work then? I don’t care if the name is shit as long as the tunes are good. tick.
It is not a dreadful name, I am just saying it sounds like a litle bit of a mouthful. Clap politely and move on, people. Anyone interested in firing through to Glasgow on Tuesday to see them? I reckon I’m going.
Yeah maybe probably count me in possibly.
(Respect me for my steely-willed icy decisiveness.)
You tell ‘em, son!
I was already hoping to see them on Tuesday, hopefully I can wriggle out of a few things to make it.
Also, I’m pretty sure yer man Mumford went to Uni in Edinburgh… so perhaps through a tenuous Scottish granny type rule we can claim them as part of the local scene?
Worked for Snow Patrol…
[...] might be popping through to Glasgow to see Mumford & Sons actually, because there’s not much happening around here at the moment. One gig, however, is [...]
[...] There’s an intriguing wee scene blossoming down in London around a little indie label called Chess Club Records. Toadfans may well have encountered them already as they’re home to the magnificient Mumford & Sons, who have been received favourably here at Toad HQ both live and on record. [...]