If you haven’t listened to the new Mumford & Sons song yet, try to guess what it sounds like. Is it uptempo? Uh-huh. Ferocious banjo strumming with the same three chords being played over and over again? Yup. Violins in the back of the mix? Oh yeah. Multi-part harmonies? You bet. Choked, heartfelt vocals with lyrics about You and Christianity? Naturally. “I Will Wait,” the first single off the group’s upcoming album Babel, due out September 25th, doesn’t break any new ground — and a whole lot of people are giving them sh*t for it.
I wasn’t a big fan of the London foursome’s mega-selling, slickly produced debut album Sigh No More, but I wasn’t offended by it, either; it just sounded disingenuous to me, like they were taking advantage of the folk revival scene set in place by bands like Fleet Foxes and Laura Marling, rather than trying to do anything new. (Also, Sigh No More is a TERRIBLE album title.) It was also kind of boring.
But there are plenty of disingenuously boring bands out there: why does Mumford get a lengthy review with the hilariously accurate headline of, “New Mumford & Sons song ‘I Will Wait’ sounds exactly like every other one of their f*cking songs”? It’s because they’re popular. Like, inspiring-fashion-posts-on-websites-called-College-Fashion level popular. Mumford have hit a point where although Sigh was released on an indie label, they feel like (and are) a mainstream act, and that offends a lot of people. Their earnestness is polarizing because it feels so impersonal when sung to thousands of people, and — unlike Arcade Fire, who are also “high-profile indie” — they’re part of a scene that many people wouldn’t know about otherwise. “The haters” are the musical equivalent of a 75-year-old screaming at the youths to GET OFF MY SCENE. Try going up to someone who likes bluegrass and say, “I love bluegrass, too. Have you heard about this band Mumford & Sons?” Then watch their head explode.
To me, Mumford & Sons are just so middle-of-the-road that they’re not worth being upset about. It’d be like getting mad at white bread. To others, though, their popularity is an attack on REAL music, to say nothing of their dumb vests (that part I agree with). To those people I say: just listen to the Avett Brothers instead.
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The first time I heard one of their songs, I thought to myself, “Jeez, this new Flogging Molly single fucking sucks.”
You, sir, are a colossal dick
I have always defended and loved you Vince Mancini. You can take a thousand photos of yourself sitting backwards in a chair and I could never possible thought less of you. You could have given a thumbs-up to a million shitty movies like Your Highness (and I LIKE Kenny Powers, and Portmen, and Franco, and Tywinn Lannister and Major Winters… worst waste of a cast EVER) and you still would be my go to movie blogger. But today… TODAY my friend you have made a new enemy!
* “I could never possible thought less of you.”
I would never think any less of you….. FML
*shrug* I enjoyed ‘Sigh No More’ but respect those that didn’t. Opinions, they resemble arseholes.
Saw them last night. They put on a hell of a show.
I’m getting so sick of this hipster attitude that you have to like certain music and it can’t be too popular. Why do we have to judge people based on their musical tastes?
I liked Sigh No More. I don’t really care if they got “too popular” because, well that’s irrelevant when I’m driving to work and listening to the album. I don’t get why people hate them so much. It’s not like they’re Nickleback.
There it is. If when listening to something its level of popularity factors into a persons judgement of it at all they’re a fucking idiot.
People really need to just like the music they like because they like it and not because anybody else does or doesn’t like it. If a song/album/band resonates with you and gives you enjoyment then guess what, you like that song/album/band. If no one else in the world likes it, or every single person on the planet loves it makes no difference whatsofuckingever. You like it. End of story.
Posts “5 albumns that don’t suck”… all suck.
i never knew about laura marling. thank you for this
“To those people I say: just listen to the Avett Brothers instead.”
Yes.
The hell is wrong with the Avett Brothers?
It is really okay to just listen to music because you enjoy it. The music you listen to doesn’t have to be used as some kind of a tool to prove that you are more hardcore, real, have heard of them first. It can just be because you enjoy it. Why is this such a problem for the internet? It is really possible to enjoy Mumford and Sons along with The Avett Brothers. I do it and I like to listen to Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. I do that because I like music. The rest doesn’t matter. Stop taking yourself so seriously Internet you are getting boring and tiresome and really Uproxx in general is acting more and more like the little kids on tumblr. Fanboy much?
I like every one of those bands you mentioned, so…?
I actually saw the Avett Brothers play right after Mumford and Sons at Jazz Fest 2 years ago, so yay for relevancy! I’m actually surprised so many people dislike Mumford and Sons, they’re my favorite band and this is the first time I’ve even heard of it. I guess that might be because I don’t listen to what people who wear Buddy Holly glasses and scarves say. I don’t know how you can listen to their music and not feel uplifted, regardless of whether its mainstream folk there’s an earnestness in each of their songs that’s clearly from the heart.
“Buddy Holly glasses and scarves “….I’ve never seen Josh in a scarf.
yeah…. I’ve come to the conclusion over the last year… than Mumford and Sons is the best band in the world….
We can complain about all of their songs sounding the same…. but I’ve never wrapped my head around that argument. All bands sound the same. Very rarely does a band “change” direction that significantly
Just because a band is popular does not make them a good band. REO Speedwagon at one time was one of the most popular bands in the world. Now you might catch them at your nearest Native American Casino. This is the worst of hipster folk music ever. Their songs anooy the hell out of me. Every time I walk in my local bar, Pandora is playing them like a crack addict looking for a fix. You could put on the Lynyrd Skynyrd Channel and Mumford and Sons will pop up, eventually. I hope their career dies a painful death similar to Milli Vanilli or REO Speedwagon. That would provide me great pleasure. Now if you want to hear or see a great American rock band, I suggest go see Band of Horses next time they’re in your hood. That is greatest band traveling around the country today.
It’s annoying when people use the comment “all of their songs sound the same” when talking about a band. This most often comes from people who give an album one listen through and judge it based on that. You can’t really start hearing differences until you hear the album a few times through. Aspects will begin to stand out once you know the songs a little better. And it was said above, yes often songs sound the same from a band because they haven’t changed their singer or instrument set up or writing style. Pop Stars sound different every new single because they have different writers every time around. Give it a few more listens, let it marinate and then make a decision. Mumford & Sons is so popular because its a fresh new sound! People have been begging for something like this to be popular. Embrace that shit.