I went to one of our local record store last weekend and
asked my friend to pick a random number. He said 34, so I went up to a crate
and counted to the 34th record in the crate and pulled out “Babel”
by Mumford & Sons. So that is where I found this album, complete and total
happenstance. That is where this journey begins.
Track by Track Analysis
Mumford & Sons
Babel
Released on January 1, 2012
Overview:
Okay, so before I talk about this album song by song and get
all nit-picky and all that jazz, I think we should talk about the band a whole
for a second, so you know where they’re coming from. Mumford & Sons is a
super cool and hipster band. The band consists of 4 British dudes that formed
in 2007. A cool thing about them is that they all play a ton of different
instruments throughout all their music. All of their voices can be heard in
their music, which leads to some pretty cool layers and harmonies. But I think
the coolest part about them is the instruments they chose to play with; these
include the piano, banjo, mandolin, electric and acoustic guitar, standing
bass, double bass, and a ton of other folk instruments. The mix of folk and pop
instruments have led Mumford & Sons to have a pretty unique sound and
style. Anyway, let’s get on with the rest of this review, but if you like this,
you should listen to their other albums!
Side A:
Babel-
Ah, the
title track. I feel like there is a lot of pressure on the title track, because
it’s usually the first song people think of when they think about the album. As
both the title track and the first track on the side A, it’s obvious they
believed in this song. This track did just that. It’s a pretty intense song to
start off, which I wasn’t really expecting, but it has these two soft and
almost vulnerable sections that invite the listeners to the album and the
journey within it.
Whispers in the Dark-
Whispers in the Dark feels like a
journey, starting with some soft instrumental that lets the listener settle in
and feel comfortable. Then the song shifts and gets an angry tone when the lead
singer, Marcus Mumford, starts to use his scream singing as the lyrics change
as well. Also, this song uses religious references a lot, which, I’m totally
cool with, but I’m also happy that it’s not this heavy throughout the entire
album.
I Will Wait-
When you get to this song when
listening to the album in order, you can get kinda sick of the loudness and
fast paced songs, which for me, led to a kind of annoyance and less appreciation
for this song. Plus this is the song from this album that radios would ALWAYS
play even though there are some others that are better or more original. But
when you listen to this song by itself, it’s actually really cool, especially
during the chorus when you can hear the four distinct voices, creating a vibe
that you aren’t alone, which complement the lyrics talking about waiting for
their lover.
Holland Road-
Finally, a ballad-ish song. Okay, a
power ballad-ish thing. This song just feels genuine, with less going on, we
can listen to the pain in the lyrics, as Marcus talks about a break-up and how
he felt. Oh shit and when he goes pseudo-acapella, and yet again you can hear
all the voices. Then this song like pumps up, as if he is healing and moving
on.
Ghosts That We Knew-
Yo so this is the true actual for
real life ballad. This side of the record can be taken as the journey of a break-up
and the stages of grief. This song is the “sadness” part but there are also
some chunks of hope. This man has realized it has happened and almost ready to
move on. “The ghosts that we knew will flicker from view.” With a faint acoustic
guitar in the background at the very end of this song puts a sweeter end to a
sad, yet extremely powerful and emotional song.
Lover Of The Light-
This song throws a wrench into the
stages of grief. This man goes back to the girl and gets her back. This song
has a lot of build-up and instrumental breaks that you cant help but to feel
happy about hearing. This song is similar to Babel and I Will Wait, but is a
welcome change after the emotional journey of The Ghosts That We Knew.
Side B:
Okay, so now we get to flip the
record over and have a completely new experience with new music, sometimes with
a completely different tone of message.
Lovers’ Eyes-
As opposed to the first track of
Side A, Lovers’ Eyes is a slow and deep song that changes speed quite a bit,
but never wavers in the statements it is making. “I’ll walk slow, take my hand
help me on my way” is talking about his significant other that he knows he
needs her help. The change from the beginning where he thinks it is too good to
be true and he slowly realizes that it is true, and more instruments and the volume
of the voices.edit
Reminder-
This song will put me right into my
feels super-fast. And that’s impressive because I don’t get into my feels that
much and this is a 2 minute song. This song is the vulnerability of being in
love and what it feels like to not be around the person you love. Wow, such a
real song that just gets to me.
Hopeless Wanderer-
This song does that thing that I like
to call a “folk bass drop” where the song is quiet and simple and then all hell
breaks loose and it’s a completely different song, but it’s also just as enjoyable.
This it goes back and calms down again before losing its shit once again. This
song is fun and can be pretty moving if you listen to the lyrics that tell you
he is in love but he can’t help but wonder what’s out there.
Broken Crown-
Well, this is a new level of anger
we haven’t seen by Mumford on this album. This is the only song that is labeled
as “explicit” which is actually pretty interesting. If there was one song that
is the “anger” part of the grieving process, it’s for sure this one. The
driving beat in end part of this song is just simply nice to feel angry to and
have an outlet for that anger.
Below My Feet-
What a cool song, but it’s just
like Babel, I Will Wait, Lover of the Light, and Hopeless Wanderer. Don’t get
me wrong, I’ll take every day of the week and twice on Sunday, but it pretty
similar.
Not With Haste-
I straight up think this song is a
prayer. Similar to Whispers in the Dark, this just has a god feel. I think this
is the perfect way to end this album: in acceptance. I really like the “We will
be who we are” and “Sadness will be far away” leaves us with this sense of hope
to find love and to be happy with who we are. Kinda cringey and middle school,
but the way the music added to it made it feel mature somehow. I don’t know, it’s
just cool.
Bonus: if you like these songs, you should listen to the
deluxe version, there’s a couple other songs not included on the vinyl. I’d
highly suggest “The Boxer” just saying.
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