Mumford & Sons Announce New Banjo-less Album, 'Wilder Mind'

Late-2000s British folk-rock darlings Mumford & Sons are officially shaking off the last remnants of their 2013 hiatus and becoming a relevant concern again with the announcement of their keenly anticipated third studio full-length, Wilder Mind, not least of all because — probably to The Audreys' relief — there's not a note of banjo on the whole dang thing.

Yup, Wilder Mind — which will be released on Friday, 1 May, via Gentlemen Of The Road/Dew Process/UMA — is aurally pretty different from what's come before from Marcus Mumford and his cohort of musos, as the band forsook many of the acoustic hallmarks that defined their first two records (2009's Sigh No More and 2012's Babel) in favour of exploring more electric, percussive pursuits, a "development, not a departure" that arose in the wake of the band's support run for their last record.

"Towards the end of the Babel tour, we'd always play new songs during soundchecks, and none of them featured the banjo, or a kick-drum," Mumford said in a statement. "And demoing with Aaron ment that, when we took a break, we knew it wasn't going to involve acoustic instruments.

"We didn't say, 'No acoustic instruments,' but I think all of us had this desire to shake it up. The songwriting hasn't changed drastically; it was led more by a desire to not do the same thing again. Plus, we fell back in love with drums! It's as simple as that."

Speaking of the new release on Facebook this morning (AEST), the band described its creation as "a liberating and unifying experience".

"It was about songs, first and foremost. And then of course the sound we felt supported those songs best. It was fun," the band explained.

The post was accompanied by a short teaser video previewing a small taste of what sort of soundscape fans can expect to encounter when Wilder Mind makes its debut in a couple of months' time. Take a look below.