plant your hope with good seeds

I discovered Mumford and Sons on a road trip. Summer road trips always seem to include great music, sunshine, bare feet, and long stretches of road. This was no exception.

This band's music is rousing. That's the first word that comes to mind. They make an art of building up their songs into  anthemic gems.Their songs often feature a banjo, a mandolin, and  sometimes an accordion, among other instruments.

I had a strange disconnected thought a little while ago. They  remind me a little of U2. The earnest early-eighties version of U2, that is. I think it's their youthful eagerness and the energy they inject into their music and performances. The comparisons, however, stop here.

On the Mumford and Sons website, they're described as:               

 Four young men from West London in their early twenties, they have fire in their bellies, romance in their hearts, and rapture in their masterful, melancholy voices.

Their live performances are indeed electric, and there's more than a hint of spirituality in the lyrics that give their songs a sense of longing. With roots in folk, Mumford and Sons are not an obvious fit with the popular music scene, yet in a short time, they've exploded onto it with their intense and impassioned sound.

This first video, is from The Accoustic Bookshop Sessions. I think this is my second favourite song by them... although the whole album is fantastic. Here, they are playing a fabulous version of The Cave.

This next song caught me by surprise. I heard it a few times, and only then did it hit me just how good it was. It reaches crazy energy levels. (Apparently I'm a sucker for that). So here you have it the official video for Roll Away Your Stone. I love Marcus Mumford's smile after he finishes the song. It says: "Wow, they really like us, I can't believe it!"

I recommend that you buy the Sigh No More album and go see one of their shows.
Just from the footage I've seen, I know I'm going to love seeing these guys live! And, my friends who have recently seen Mumford and Sons at Sasquatch, rave about their performance. It's just the beginning for this fouresome...

...their incredible energy draws us in quickly to their circle of songs, to the warmth of their stories, and to their magical community of misty-eyed men. (www.mumfordandsons.com/biography)

 Now for a less polished but electric rendition of Roll Away Your Stone:



Fabulous, isn't it?

Addendum:
I recently found this video from two years ago...  Check them out, their sound has already begun to emerge. Here, it's a little raw: