It’s not exactly Bob Dylan going electric at Newport Folk Fest back in ’65, but it’s still raising eyebrows from here to the capital of Banjoistan: Mumford & Sons are plugging in.
The embattled-but-successful folk-rock outfit, which has made a career out of banjos, acoustic guitars, and stomping kick drums, will be experimenting with synthesizers and a full-on “stadium” rock sound on new album Wilder Mind, due May 4.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, frontman Marcus Mumford says: “We felt that doing the same thing, or the same instrumentation again, just wasn’t for us. We’ve got a broader taste in music than just that.” Adds bassist Ted Dwane: “None of us had really any interest in doing a sort of Babel 2. It was always going to be different.”
Dwane says he was shocked when he saw — gasp! — synthesizers in his London studio as the band prepped what will be their third album, and the first since their all-too-brief hiatus and 2012’s Babel.
“It was bizarre,” he tells Rolling Stone. “I didn’t expect we were going to do the same thing again – but this was crazy!”
Check out the Wilder Mind track list, cover art, and a 21-second preview clip below.
Mumford & Sons Wilder Mind Track List:
1. “Tompkins Square Park”
2. “Believe”
3. “The Wolf”
4. “Wilder Mind”
5. “Just Smoke”
6. “Monster”
7. “Snake Eyes”
8. “Broad-Shouldered Beasts”
9. “Cold Arms”
10. “Ditmas”
11. “Only Love”
12. “Hot Gates”
