One artist. Every album. Ten songs.
The Music of Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons was the first band I ever really loved.
Before them, I'd never jumped in to one particular artist with as much heartfelt enthusiasm. Mumford & Sons was the first band that really spoke to something deep within me - their music made me think of road trips and classic adventures, good times and great friends. It was old-school but as energetic as anything on the radio. It was a totally fresh sound that honestly captured my soul. I can't tell you how many times I listened to their first two albums over and over again. I know every song, every line, every harmony under the melody.
Then album three - Wilder Mind - came along, and the band ditched their folksy vibe for a more electric sound. At the time, I was devastated. The thing that had made them so iconic to me was exactly what they were leaving behind. And to be honest, I never enjoyed the band's music as much once that shift had come. I even began scouring the internet, looking for unreleased songs from their earlier days. As it turns out, there's a lot - you can find a playlist of many of them here.
But whatever album you listen to, there are a few things that bind the band's works together. Their lyrics are classically abstract, capturing blurred black-and-white moments rather than high-definition colour images. This ambiguity allows the audience to imbue the songs with personal meaning, although there are times when it's difficult for anyone to ascertain what they're actually singing about. One example for me would be "Roll Away Your Stone", which seems to be a critique of the church if I'm not mistaken. Or check out these lyrics from "Below My Feet":
Just give me time
You know your desires and mine
So wrap my flesh in ivy and in twine
For I must be well
I still don't know what this means, and I've listened to this song eight hundred times.
To make a long story short, I'd recommend their first two albums and their unreleased stuff. After that, they start sounding a bit too run-of-the-mill for me.