Band : Mumford & Sons
Album title : Sigh No More
Label : Gentleùan Of The Road - Coop
Distributor : V2
Release date : 05/10/2009
Release : CD

This 4-piece band was formed in December 2007, and prior to that the individual members (lead singer/ guitarist/ drummer and main composer Marcus Mumford, singer, banjo & dobro player Winston Marshall, singer/ keyboar & organ player Ben Lovett, and singer/ double bass player Ted Dwane) had already played with several London based Folk bands during the preceding Summer.

They got together to perform Mumford’s first attempts at songwriting and bonded through a common love for Country, Bluegrass, and Folk music. In February 2008 the band completed an extensive tour with support from Adrian, Alessi’s Park, Peggy Sue, Pete Roe, Sons Of Noel, The Cutaway, and more, and in July 2008 released their Lend Me Your Eyes 10-inch (vinyl thus) EP through the Chess Club Records label, selling out London’s Luminaire venue that same month. On the same label followed the EP’s Love Your Ground (Dec. 2008) and The Cave And The Open Sea (May 2009), and each release is said to have seen the band’s music grow “…brighter, bolder, and brawnier, with an increased focus on their empassioned and intimate lyrics…” In between, the band continued to play gigs and tours, including an American tour in support of Laura Marling (for whom some of the guys used to play), and Johnny Flynn And The Sussex Wit. The popularity increased as well, the band finding itself on the BBC1 Sound Of 2009 shortlist.

End result, the debut full-length sounds exactly like a debut album shoùld sound: fresk and exhilerated! Stylistically, the band leans towards the American traditions of Folk (the label namedrops Crosby, Stiils & Nash and Kings Of Leon)…and perhaps I comes at a wrong time for me personally, as I simply have too many albums left to review to allow this one time enough to truly grow on me! Nevertheless, I’m certain fans of Bluegrass Folk are gonna lóve this album after only a couple of listening sessions! If you’re not certain whether that kind of music is actually something for you (there’s hardly any electric guitar played on this album, so the average reader of this website will probably have “turned the page” by now), check out what the band posted at myspacce.commumfordandsons. If you like that, you might wanna catch their show at Antwerp’s Crossing Corders Festival (on Nov. 21)…and then decide whether you like this band enough to buy their album! Last minute news: the band has apparently signed a deal with major label Island!

82/100

Tony.