Shit Hot: Mumford & Sons

26 October 2009

by Nathan Jolly

From: London
Sounds like: The Pogues, Bon Iver
Album: Sigh No More
Key Tracks: Little Lion Man, The Cave

Did you know?
-Entered the UK album charts at #11
-The band have three previous EPs
-Up for BBC’s Sound of 2009

It seems like a clerical error. Nobody can deny that London based Mumford & Sons are an interesting, quality band. Of the latest flood of folk-rock bands to come from the London folk scene, they are the best, and most commercially minded. In the wake of folk albums that are spoken of in hushed tones, such as Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago and Fleet Foxes, it makes sense that people would pay attention to this band, as they no doubt inhabit the same universe as the aforementioned two.

And these days, it seems, digging songs that wouldn’t sound out of place in your parent’s (or, gasp, grandparent’s) record collections is quite the quaint thing to do. Bandwagon-esque indeed. Yet, in a decade where, musically it seems, anything goes, it still came as a shock when Little Lion Man, the folksy, oddball first single from the band’s debut album was seized upon so ravenously by radio and television alike.

The little tune that could, was added nationally to the NOVA Network, was number one on the TMN Alternative chart, for three consecutive weeks, and was the highest debut on the TMN Hot 100. They haven’t fit into commercial radio’s often rigid format, they have forced radio to fit in with it.

Mumford & Sons are a London four piece, who formed barely two years ago, playing shows in the tight knit London folk community. It was only quite recently that they signed to Island Records in the UK, and released their first single. BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe jumped on the track quickly, making it his ‘Reaction Record’ in late July, before naming it the ‘hottest record in the world’ the following evening.

This record makes a lot more sense in the context of the British market, which has long embraced this sound – their radio stations are flooded by quality indie music, with artists from small labels often sitting side by side with Pop Idol rejects, and manufactured boy bands. In Australia, however, this band’s breakthrough is both surprising, and welcome.

The album that the track is from, Sigh No More, has also received its fair share of praise worldwide, with many focusing on the songs tight, yet interesting structures and strange instrumentation. The bad reviews have focused on the fact that the band seem to play it safe, which indicates that, while this record may turn off a lot of the elitists that believe that music should be challenging and devoid of hooks, from a radio point of view, there are plenty of follow up singles to mirror the success that Little Lion Man is receiving. And these are early days, with the single barely being in the public consciousness for more than a few weeks.

Mumford & Sons show no signs of stopping, and hopefully they have opened the floodgates for other quality bands to come in and shake up radio playlists nation wide.