Review Summary: No banjo? Good riddance to that.
To be honest, I've never really gotten into Mumford & Sons. Maybe it was because when I heard them for the first time a couple years ago with "I Will Wait", I wanted nothing but to avoid them at all costs. I tried out both Babel and Sigh No More to see if any of that would change, coming away with the same mindset as I did prior. One of the local radio stations in my area just recently spun Mumford & Sons' latest single, and when I heard it, I was like 'is this really the same guys who did that terrible song?'. It piqued my interest into giving their third studio album Wilder Mind a try, and I ended up coming away both disappointed and actually looking somewhat forward to whatever they bring up next.
Knowing that Mumford & Sons' last two albums were bombarded with their rustic, folksy sound, Wilder Mind is a completely new venture for the band - trading the sounds of their last two albums for big-production indie rock. No banjo, no problem at all because the production here is fantastic. As someone who couldn't stand them, especially with the banjo fronting their previous sound, the summer-driven sound that exists in this album; along with their new venture definitely makes it a more accessible and fun album than you would think. The originality however is not even close, channeling in their inner U2 and One Republic - the roaring melody of "Believe" is almost identical to One Republic's "If I Lose Myself" with a tad bit of Coldplay. This is evident throughout the entire album, and that isn't the only problem here.
Vocally-speaking Marcus, in various moments during the album, has some really terrible vocal performances. Taking me back to when I heard "I Will Wait", I remember that despite how bad the song in general was, the vocals were on-point and passionate. In Wilder Mind, Mumford took some serious steps back. In the sunset-bathed "Believe", his vocals were uninspiring and he sounded tired especially in the waning moments of the song - his attempt to channel his inner Chris Martin fails miserably here. In the cheerful, Colourist-influenced "The Wolf" the same thing transpires in bits and pieces of the song, so that's one of concern to take note. The only solid performance Mumford has is in the opener, which is because his depressing vocals blends in with the its sad premise.
While there can be a lot said about the unoriginality of the album and its electric-driven sound, what keeps the album from descending any further is the production and solid replay value. If "Believe" doesn't give you anything to look forward to when summer hits, I don't know what will. The glowing electric guitar echoing with its plethora of illuminating synths and starry piano combines together for quite an empowering, chilling track bound to be on your summer playlist. Its one of those tracks where your laying down on a grass field at night looking at the starry sky - its serene to say the least. It makes the otherwise boring vocals bearable, which is the case for the majority of the album aside from the urban "Tompkins Square Park" - undoubtedly the best track off Wilder Mind.
What Wilder Mind is supposed to convey is that while the departure from their signature folk-rock sound is real, they're still inspired by everything circling around it - helping them journey to their more commercialized, sonically-driven sound. This is a far cry from anything Mumford & Sons has done in the past, likely not drawing a ton of fanfare from fans because of that alone. As someone who wasn't fond of what they did prior, the vast change to me is both refreshing and more enjoyable than anything else they previously did. The summer-driven instrumentation is flawless, however its highly marred by its unoriginality and uninspiring lyrical content. If the latter can be refined for their next effort, should they stick to their new formula, the band that I used to loathe may very have my attention for the future to come.
