Top 10 Albums of 2012
10. Mumford and Sons- Babel
I would love to go back to the year 1992 and interview myself on musical predictions of the future. The grunge era had entered full force, and metal bands like Motley Crue, Guns & Roses, and Metallica helped rule the airwaves. The new kid on the block was rap, and it seemed to be gaining momentum everywhere, including some rap infused metal with bands like Anthrax and Faith No More. One thing I would not have predicted, was the rise of popularity of the banjo.
The banjo? The instrument most associated to the movie "Deliverance" and Bluegrass is now ruling the pop airwaves? I mean, not even country music was country in 1992, it had begun it's transcendence into pop. But here we are and we find many bands like Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, and The Lumineers making their mark on the music world. Even comedian Steve Martin has come into musical relevance with his mastery of the instrument.
Babel is the follow up to the critical and commercial success, Sigh No More. The album starts off hitting you with the title track full force. The band changes tempos, crescendos, and Marcus Mumford adds fantastic vocals. One of the hallmarks of a great vocalist is how real they can sound. Marcus bridges that to the listener with each song he sings.
"I Will Wait" is another great song featuring some of the wonderful harmonies of the band. Virtually everybody in the band is listed as a vocalist, and that always adds to the rich textures of a song. The entire album is great to spin in it's entirety, but I love that they pay homage to folk heroes of the past with their cover of "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel.
The one challenge that I think remains for the band is to expand beyond their current sound. They rule the charts, and it could be easy to play it safe and stick with this formula that has worked so well for them. However, I'd love Brian of 2014 to turn on the radio and say "Wow. Was that Mumford and Sons?" I think it will happen and I look forward to watch them continue to evolve.
Brian Richardson
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