MUMFORD & SONS

Delta 6/10

Jettisoning folk rock for ponderous stadium pop

Beneath the banjos, the dobros and the waistcoats, the Mumfords were always an MOR pop group, mixing Marcus Mumford’s cod-Shakespearean lyrics with big, blustering choruses. On their fourth album, all pretence at rootsy authenticity is gone – this is machinetooled stadium pop, with producer Paul Epworth in the Brian Eno role. The richly harmonised vocals sound like a cyborg choir and the double bass has been replaced by rumbling, speaker-busting sub-bass drones. Even the best songs, like “Beloved”, “Woman” and “Picture You”, are hilariously ponderous, but the setting rather suits them.