Photo: WENN.com
Mumford & Sons return this week with their second album Babel, and last night (24 September 2012) proved they are back with a banjo-shaped bang as they headlined the iTunes festival.
The band's music was and is original and exciting, but for a while it saturated the airwaves. They were everywhere, so a wee backlash was inevitable. The gang however have made the rather smart decision to wait just short of three years to release their second album, letting the hype die down before making their comeback. It was a shrewd move. As a self confessed music-snob, this reviewer can state that tonight's gig was nothing short of fantastic.
Marcus Mumford and co. have a seemingly unique gift to instantly unite an audience with just a few strums of a guitar (or banjo as the case may be). With Babel being released on the day of the gig, there was obviously a desire to hear the new tracks, however with a gig like this, there was also a very tangible hunger for all the big songs from the first album. The band collated a perfect mixture of old and new that made the set gently undulate forward.
New tracks such as 'Lover of the Light' and 'I Will Wait' were a marvel to hear live, showcasing a slight but very real progression in sound to a more Springsteen-esque rock and roll amble. 'Awake My Soul' was a joy to be part of, and the triumphant encore of 'The Cave' had the intimately sized crowd positively frothing at the mouth. Babel is great, and the band sound better than ever. Welcome back boys.
