Album review: Mumford & Sons, Wilder Mind

The band Mumford & Sons.

On the surface, one might say that Wilder Mind, the third album from the London quartet, has seen Mumford & Sons change from waistcoats and plaid to leather and denim. But that's a bit misleading really, a hokey oversimplification.

Because while the banjos and accordions and folksy percussion (and even the beards) have gone, they haven't magically turned into The Rolling Stones.

Instead they've taken some nostalgia for the 80s with Dire Straits rhythmic motifs and Bruce Springsteen chord progressions, turned their electric guitar dial round to U2, and given a nod to Chris Martin and his emotive, anthemic tendencies.

They've found themselves wandering somewhere between the twisted classic rock reinvention of The War On Drugs, and arena-winning glimmer of Coldplay, with Marcus Mumford's vocals couched amid a newly propulsive rhythm section, some very pretty electric guitar and sweeping washes of synth.

It's been beautifully produced - they've switched from working with Arcade Fire producer Markus Dravs, who helped them with the undeniably successful Sigh No More and Babel, and got James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Haim, Florence and the Machine) on board. Ford's certainly helped them up the arena rock factor while retaining their mainstream appeal, and every track has a strong sense of space, scale and instrumental placement, along with a certain warmth.

But it doesn't sound like anything we haven't heard before, and despite their enthusiasm for dynamics, it feels a bit tonally bland and overblown in parts.

That's not to say it's devoid of good songs - opening track Tompkins Square Park (which is a reference to the neighbourhood in New York where they did some initial demos with Aaron Dessner from The National) has a dark fervour; The Wolf has a previously unheard hunger; the title track creates a sweet melancholy in its simple, driving riffs; Snake Eyes has a mesmerising quality.

But the songs do seem to pluck at a similar emotional string, and that repetition makes them feel less soulful or heartfelt than they might. Thematically they circle around various relationship issues - trust, compromise, miscommunication, temptation, cruelty, betrayal, and are often touched with a little bitterness.

That was initially surprising given Mumford has been seemingly happily married to actress Carey Mulligan since 2012, and they're now expecting their first child.

But then it was revealed he opened up the songwriting floor to his bandmates this time around, and two of them have recently come out of long-term relationships, which makes more sense (at least on the surface).

Ultimately it's a collection that shows Mumford & Sons truly stepping into their world-conquering rock band shoes with ease, and it's a welcome musical progression, without making a hugely memorable mark with the new palette.

Artist: Mumford & Sons
Album: Wilder Mind
Label: Universal
Verdict: Arena rock ambitions revealed in absence of banjos and accordions.

- TimeOut