Mumford & Sons take to the road more passionately than any band in history, it seems, and fans of the English “Gentlemen of the Road” greatly appreciate that affection. This summer has been as fast and furious as ever for the musicians, taking them from Boston Calling to the Hangout Festival by the Gulf, to Austin and countless points in between.
Mumford & Sons frequently mention that they love to create new music so they can have a reason to go on tour, but how does so much globetrotting allow any respite for recording? Somehow, “the boys” have managed to get a strong group of songs ready for their next full album, and they have no tolerance for anything nearing mediocre.
Their fourth collection is set to be worthy of the fans and the future for Mumford & Sons.
Going for 'great'
One thing that Mumford & Sons savors from the success they have attained is the privilege to curate projects with which they are involved. One example is this week’s Latitude Festival, which features personally-selected performers by the Mumford members. The premiere UK concert event runs from Thursday, July 13, through Sunday, July 16, and reunites Mumford & Sons with friends who shared their stage early on, Fleet Foxes. Other hand-picked acts, including Two Door Cinema Club, The Head and the Heart, The 1975, Glass Animals, Fatboy Slim will fill the roster with headliners, Mumford & Sons.
Six new songs are already finished and polished up for the fourth album. Some of those have found positions in Mumford & Sons’ Summer set lists. The band has always measured the quality of a new song by the measure of fan response, to a great extent. Winston Marshall described the progress of the new album with NME, saying that “a good chunk of the record” is done.
String master, Marshall, elaborated on how this band keeps its focus on the quality of an album’s content over just creating a discography. “If you're going to write an album of 10 songs, our attitude is you need to write 30 and choose 10 f---ing great ones,” he stresses.
That kind of work ethic and humility has been a grounding force for Mumford & Sons since their earliest days of sharing songs.
Marcus Mumford echoes the sentiment that the band still strives for the highest mark, onstage and in the studio. He maintains an attitude of “not being too precious” about new songs and still working out what works and what doesn't work with lyrics and music very organically with audiences.
“We could probably put out a not-so-good album now, but it's better to wait and put out a great one,“ Winston Marshall concurs.
A summer of songs
Most of the writing for “Wilder Mind,” the third Mumford & Sons album, was done in the studio and allowed each member of the band a newfound liberation to contribute, collaborate, and experiment with new space and sound. While that process yielded very fertile artistic growth, Marcus Mumford says that the album became more of a “statement” than was intended.
The making of this collection seems to be more rooted in the band's tradition of writing whenever and wherever inspiration strikes--even along the road.
Mumford & Sons have much to draw from for inspiration, with love, marriage, and growing families all being part of the band’s lives beyond the shows, and being blessed to share their songs across the globe for another summer. Music is a reflection of the composer in the mirror and the world beyond, and there is much to look forward to from the world of these artists whose songs ease souls.
