Mumford and Sons: Sigh no more - Album Review
Posted by Wrigle on Fri, 26 Mar 2010.
Marcus Mumford
Country Winston
Ben Lovett
Ted Dwane
The debut album of the West London band truly shows what this band is about; described as a mix of indie and folk they certainly prove their point with this diverse mix of lyrics that relate to both love and loss. Now, the singles released late last year, Little Lion Man, The Cave and Winter Winds proved an utter success at the time so once compiled with the new additions, the album was bound for success.
It’s obviously a play through album and although most songs can hold their own they do run through well and combine many messages that are passed through from each song to the next. The starting track, Sigh No More opens the album slowly, as if working the listener up to the more adverse songs that follow. The messages of love from the opener are followed by the darker lyrics of The Cave which seem to go through the stages of loosing love over time, rather than the more obvious messages of love from Sigh No More. The third song is yet another song which entrances the listener as the descriptions of pure love are again shown throughout this song. ‘As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts, Oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms, Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night? For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt’ are the lyrics that do open this song so amazingly well. The following songs show messages of compassion, compromise and despair which combined with the outstanding music behind each of the three songs make the songs totally overwhelming.
These last few songs lead up amazingly well to the breathe taking single Little Lion Man, which of course was re-recorded for the album, and was certainly only changed for the better. A song embodying the mixed feelings of a broken relationship through to the brilliant tune that you can’t help but join in with proves this to be one of my favorite tracks on this album. The few final songs of the album really do close the album well albeit if they are a tad depressing at times; the lyrics intend to show the feelings felt by each band member at different periods throughout their lives.
The final track, After The Storm, finalizes the album incredibly well, mostly, by bringing the range of feelings from the entire album to a close with the simple lines ‘ Get over your hill and see, what you find there, With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair’. An amazing end to an overwhelming album.
The music itself is a brilliant sound track to an outstanding set of lyrics as the totally different types of instruments used throughout the album. From the banjo through to the trumpet the band uses each instrument in its own way and with great effect. Overall, the entire album is comprised of incredibly catchy tunes that stick in your mind for days at a time.
Sigh No More brings a new style of music into the world of modern music that creates a great change to the music scene of today. Mumford and Sons have created one of the best mixes of music that have been released for some time (personal opinion so don’t hold it against me) and really, the contrast of decent beats and inspirational lyrics make the prospect of a night at home with music on a pretty good thought. Basically, loved this one and really can’t wait for the next!