Album Review: Mumford & Sons - Babel

English folksters Mumford & Sons return with the difficult task of following up their massively successful 2009 debut Sigh No More. It was received with rapturous aural applause worldwide, thanks largely to charismatic frontman Marcus Mumford's soaring vocals and Winston Marshall's pulsating banjo riffery. Country Winnie made the banjo cool again.
The title track on their latest effort, Babel, kicks things off at an impressive pace, showcasing their penchant for big, driving arrangements. I Will Wait follows in a similar rollicking stadium folk vain, with Marcus' lyrical heart firmly on his sleeve, as he proclaims “I will wait, I will wait for you.” It's hard to pick the standout tracks from an album littered with pearlers, but Lovers' Eyes, Broken Crown and Below My Feet are bona fide gems amongst the others, with the latter's superb multi-layered vocals and steady guitar build-up shining brightly. While there may not be an obvious radio saturator like Little Lion Man on this collection of songs, it does speak volumes of the evenness of the album and the sheer strength of the quartet's song writing. Although Mumford & Sons haven't reinvented the wheel on this one, Babel contains enough addictive hooks, heartfelt vocals and bodacious banjo badness to attract a positive report card from this reviewer.
No second album jitters from these West London lads. It's onwards and upwards for an act that shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. The wait has been well worth it; this'll steal your folkin' heart.