Sigh No More

by Mumford & Sons

Overview

English folk outfit Mumford & Sons' full-length debut owes more than a cursory nod to bands like the Waterboys, the Pogues, and the Men They Couldn't Hang. The group's heady blend of biblical imagery, pastoral introspection, and raucous, pub-soaked heartache may be earnest to a fault, but when the wildly imperfect Sigh No More is firing on all cylinders, as is the case with stand-out cuts like "The Cave," "Winter Winds," and "Little Lion Man," it's hard not to get swept up in the rapture. Like their London underground folk scene contemporaries Noah & the Whale, Johnny Flynn, and Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons' take on British folk is far from traditional. There's a deep vein of 21st century Americana that runs through the album, suggesting a healthy diet of Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Blitzen Trapper, and Marah. That melding of styles, along with some solid knob-twiddling from Arcade Fire/Coldplay producer Markus Dravs, helps to keep the record from completely sinking into the quicksand of its myriad slow numbers -- tracks like "I Gave You All," "Thistle & Weeds," and "After the Storm" are pretty and plain enough, but they neuter a band this spirited. Sigh No More is an impressive debut, but one that impresses more for its promise of the future than it does its wildly inconsistent place in the present. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	02/16/2010
Label:	Glassnote Entertainment Group
UPC:	5054526539952
Rank:	56668

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mumford & Sons   Primary Artist
Tom Hobden   Strings
Christopher Allan   Cello
Marcus Mumford   Drums,Guitar,Vocals,Mandolin
Ted Dwane   Drums,Vocals,Double Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Duchess Nell Catchpole   Viola,Violin
Country Winston   Banjo,Vocals,Guitar (Bass),Electric Banjo,Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Electric Tenor)
Ben Lovett   Organ,Vocals,Accordion,Keyboards
Markus Dravs   Piano Strings
Pete Beachill   Trombone
Nick Etwell   Trumpet,Flugelhorn

Technical Credits

Samuel Navel   Assistant Engineer,Assistant
Francois Chevallier   Engineer
Mumford & Sons   Arranger,Composer,Songwriter
Adam Tudhope   Management
Marcus Mumford   Composer,Group Member
Ted Dwane   Composer,Group Member
Country Winston   Group Member
Max Knight   Photography
Winston Marshall   Composer
Ben Lovett   Composer,Group Member
Dan Bowen   Video Producer
Studio Juice   Design
Bob Ludwig   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Markus Dravs   Producer
Ruadhri Cushnan   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Nick Etwell   Video Director