Latest news with #WhereItBelongs
Telegraph
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Mumford and Sons haven't lost their mojo post Winston Marshall's ‘cancellation'
Following a winning streak of three consecutive US chart-topping albums (and two in the UK), Marcus Mumford's folk-rock giants sit only behind Coldplay as Britain's biggest post-millennial band. It's been seven long years since their last outing: in the interim, country & western has helpfully come back into fashion, but that aside there's sufficient ammo on this fifth long-player to keep their band up top. Often cast as posh lads without the cares that affect us lesser mortals, Mumford & Sons have latterly suffered a minor mid-life crisis. In his lyrics for 2018's Delta, their California-born leader appeared to be battling depression, and that was before the strange mid-pandemic resignation of banjo player Winston Marshall – after endorsing a book which critiqued a far-Left protest organisation (and which saw him accused of promoting the far Right), Marshall left under a cloud. In the aftermath of a public severance, it's all too tempting to read those songs transmitting fury, accusation or regret as a direct comment. Certainly, Where It Belongs would potentially qualify: 'Are you really gone? Everybody keeps asking,' runs the opening couplet, against funereal piano chords and acoustic guitar picking, before this withering message: 'When you speak, do you think you could do it kindly?...And let your anger go to hell/Where it belongs?' This downbeat and rather bitter broadside holds a dominant place in Rushmere. The album also begins in a forlorn mood of defeat: 'In all my doubt/In all my weakness/Can you lead?' purrs the usually foghorn-voiced stadium belter in the first moments of Malibu. This, though, is an anthem of the Mumfords' post-Marshall rebuilding, and as Marcus sings more robustly about feeling 'the spirit move in me again', keyboardist Ben Lovett and bassist Ted Dwane chime in with rousing Crosby, Stills & Nash-style harmonies, before the tension bursts into the sort of shimmering feel-good chorus with which U2 and, yes, Coldplay fill the biggest arenas. Rushmere, the album, is named after a lake on Wimbledon Common, where Mumford, Lovett, Dwayne (and, presumably, Marshall) would hang out as kids (and across the road from which was Kings College School, attended by Lovett and Mumford). The title track urges a reconnection with those days' foundational dreams, to a fittingly expansive chorus: 'Don't you miss the breathlessness, the wildness in the eye,' sings Mumford, and beseeches his cohorts to 'light me up, I'm wasted in the dark' – again, to put Delta's 'black dog' behind him. Now 38, and married to British actor Carey Mulligan since 2012 (three kids and counting), Mumford is possessed of that all-pleasing gene which drives superhero rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Bono. He'd never let even an M&S record drag, so upbeat bangers arrive to balance out the downs – chest-beating, country-rocker Caroline veritably screams 'FM radio', while Truth channels all the rootsy oomph of Led Zeppelin III. Textured with synthy atmospherics more than old-time banjos, Rushmere was recorded with Grammy-laden Americana producer Dave Cobb, mostly in Nashville's fabled RCA Studio A, where he cut multi-platinum blockbusters with Kentucky star Chris Stapleton. Clearly, he has the knack for making an epic-scale, ultra-modern production feel intimate and enticing. Folky stand-outs like Monochrome cast a warm glow, and Carry On concludes with the expertly poignant wordplay and emotive refrain which will surely have Anglo-American audiences weeping. Five albums in, the Mumfords will, indeed, carry on. Best New Songs By Poppie Platt Ariana Grande, Twilight Zone Every pop star worth their salt has jumped on the 'deluxe' album bandwagon – Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter – and now Ariana Grande, fresh from touring the world on the Wicked-hype train, joins in the fun. This fun, flirty addition to last year's terrific Eternal Sunshine is an electro-drenched love song posing as the perfect vehicle for her unparalleled vocals, every breathy note disarmingly powerful. Dua Lipa and Troye Sivan, Physical Five years since lockdown means five years since Dua Lipa's chart-topping dancefloor (or, back then, bedroom) filler, Future Nostalgia. This bonus anniversary edition of smash-hit single Physical recruits pal and pop maverick Troye Sivan to inject some freshness. Jack Garratt, Catherine Wheel The former Brits Critics Choice Award winner is back with new music for the first time in five years and Catherine Wheel marks an exciting new direction: emotionally raw, soul-baring, but still hinging on catchy hooks and Mumford and Sons-esque thumping bass and choral backing. St Vincent, DOA St Vincent (Annie Clark) is one of the most singular voices in American indie-rock – endlessly inventive, always evolving. Her set at Glastonbury later this summer promises to be a highlight, so to prepare yourself check out this pulsating, synth-laden banger that should get the crowds at Worthy Farm dancing all night long.
Telegraph
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Mumford & Sons: A rowdy, barnstorming singalong – minus one of the Sons
Britain's favourite purveyors of folk rock are back plying their trade on the high streets, following some adjustments behind the scenes. Mumford & Sons may have lost one of their Sons since they last appeared in the UK in 2019, but it was very much business as usual on stage for an intimate comeback show at London's 2,300-capacity Kentish Town Forum. Banjos, double bass, acoustic and electric guitars, horns, drums, keyboards and mass harmonies were deployed with a gusto that suggested nothing has really changed. It was a notion affirmed by the roaring delight of a crowd who bellowed singalong parts as if they were at a sporting stadium serenading their heroes to victory. When the band played breakout 2009 hit Little Lion Man early in their set, the noise was deafening, an absolute storm of 'Oh-oh-oh's from stalls to balcony that seemed to take the band aback. 'It's been too long,' admitted bandleader Marcus Mumford contritely, the core trio of keyboardist Ben Lovett and bassist Ted Dwane all grinning with a kind of abashed amazement at their voluminous reception. 'It's good to be home.' Mumford & Sons last album was Delta in 2018, and they haven't played a full show in the UK since multi-instrumentalist Winston Marshall exited in 2021. It was one of the most curious splits in rock history, with the sensitive and gifted Marshall making some relatively innocuous remarks in support of a Right-wing sympathising American journalist, then effectively kicking himself out in a huff about his right to exorcise 'free speech'. Since that time, Marshall hasn't made any music but has hosted an occasional 'culture warrior' podcast series for the Spectator, which was bought by his hedge fund manager father, Sir Paul Marshall, last year. It remains baffling that anyone would give up this kind of intense, direct, passionate musical connection with an audience to become a podcaster, but let's hope he's happy. Mumford & Sons seamlessly introduced four new songs, with comeback single Rushmere being received like it was a nostalgic classic. I was particularly taken with a mournful ballad about anger and compassion called Where It Belongs that could serve as an elegiac gesture of friendship to their lost comrade. The tone of Marcus Mumford's voice was replete with notes of sorrow and wisdom, his band mates supporting him with delicacy. There is a strand of critical disdain that dismisses the Mumfords as Coldplay in grandfather shirts, but it overlooks the emotion and care that goes into finely wrought songs that genuinely connect with audiences. Unfortunately, a club venue like the Forum is not a great place for acoustic sensitivity. There was a lot of noise from the bars in quieter moments, whilst fighting twice broke out bringing the show to a halt. 'Rowdy boys!' noted Marcus bemusedly as troublemakers were muscled out by security. A security guard told me someone spat in his face, then shrugged, 'And they seemed like such a chill crowd!' It was a rambunctious, barnstorming show, albeit the barn wasn't quite big enough for the occasion. Mumford & Sons have announced upcoming arena and outdoor dates, where the cheery singalong community spirit might better be appreciated. The band themselves seemed united, committed and delighted to be back in action, whilst their fans were near delirious to have them. A final singalong encore of I Will Wait reached a pitch of excitement that surely equalled anything this old venue has hosted before. Mumford & Sons are decidedly back in business.
