Mumford & Sons released Sigh No More

Sigh No More Mumford & Sons

Released: October 2, 2009 Peak: 2 US, 2 UK, 2 CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 3.2 US, 1.61 UK, 7.61 world (includes US and UK) Genre: folk rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Sigh No More The Cave (2/26/10, 27 US, 40 A40, 2 AA, 3 MR, 31 UK, 31 CN, 32 AU) Winter Winds (12/6/09, 44 UK) Roll Away Your Stone (6/3/10, 5 AA, 10 MR) White Blank Page I Gave You All Little Lion Man (8/11/09, 45 US, 10 A40, 2 AA, 1 MR, 24 UK, 59 CN, 3 AU) Timshel Thistle & Weeds Awake My Soul Dust Bowl Dance After the Storm Total Running Time: 48:33 The Players: Marcus Mumford (vocals, guitar, drums) Ted Dwane (bass, backing vocals) Ben Lovett (keyboards, backing vocals) Winston Marshall (banjo, guitar, dobro, backing vocals)

Rating: 3.638 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Quotable: “An impressive debut, but one that impresses more for its promise of the future.” – James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Interestingly enough, this album which fits so snugly into the 21st century Americana movement in the U.S. is actually an indie folk rock group from West London. Both the U.S. and the U.K. warmly embraced the album; Mumford & Sons earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and another nod for Best Rock Song with “Little Lion Man.” Across the ocean, the album was also a nominee for the Mercury Prize in 2010 and it took home the prize for Best British Album at the 2011 Brit Awards. “Formed in 2007, that band’s goal since day one has been to make music that matters. Before recording their debut, Mumford & Sons self produced three EP’s and toured the UK extensively, bringing their rootsy rock across the country.” AZ “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.” AMG The group has “a gutsy, old-time sound that marries the magic of Crosby, Stills & Nash with the might of Kings of Leon and the harmonies of Fleet Foxes.” AZ They also owe “more than a cursory nod to bands like the Waterboys, the Pogues, and the Men They Couldn’t Hang.” AMG “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.” AMG Time Out NY has said, “The Brit combo has a spine-tingling way to harmony.” AZ “The band teamed with producer Markus Dravs who has worked with such superstar acts as Arcade Fire, Bjork and Peter Gabriel.” AZ He “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.” AMG 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.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Mumford & Sons AMG All Music Guide review by James Christopher Monger AZ Amazon.com WK Wikipedia First posted 2/15/2011; last updated 5/2/2022.