Mumford & Sons

As the boys of Mumford & Sons looked out over the crowd, the sight confronting them must have resembled something of an army dressed in pink and blue uniforms, as ponchos reached as far as the eye could see. Yet despite the rain drizzling miserably most of the afternoon, Mumford & Sons dispelled any and all of the concerns with a lights-out performance at the Domain.

Of course, Mumford & Sons weren’t the only act to grace the stage on Saturday afternoon – with a host of phenomenal acts treating the crowd to a day long event named the Gentlemen of the Road. In nearly all respects, the concert resembled a festival – it spanned from 1pm until almost midnight, with a quality line-up and a queue of food trucks and drink stations. Yet unlike your average festival like Field Day (which takes place at the same venue), the masses of teenagers and twenty-somethings were replaced by middle-aged fans with picnic blankets, many of whom were not regular festival-goers. One lady I talked to in the (extremely long) line for gozleme remarked that this was the first concert she had attended since 2004, and as a high school teacher was slightly bemused by the thought of seeing her students among the crowd.

While Meg Mac and Jake Bugg are always impeccable, The Vaccines were the stand-outs of the warm up acts. All of their songs are packed with devilishly addictive hooks, from their break-out hit If You Wanna to their new song (and easily their greatest) Handsome. The crowd seemed particularly energised by Wetsuit, probably hoping some would be dispensed with the chorus, considering the unrelenting rain. By the time Future Islands had served their brand of alternative rock, the crowd was thoroughly soaked. Yet if anything, it heightened the atmosphere, illuminating the fairy lights a littler brighter as people peered through their hoods expectantly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV6eODKYHXI

Mumford & Sons took to the stage to deliver a set both energetic and intimate. They kicked off the set with a measured rendition of Snake Eyes, giving the Aussie crowd the first taste of their new album and transformed sound. Their new album divided fans, particularly the long-running lovers of their signature banjo sound. Sensing this, Little Lion Man came next. Hundreds of raised hands met the gently pouring rain, as the crowd roared along, in one of those euphoric moments that are so unique to live music.

The concert also fell on the day of the horrific Paris terrorist attacks, and just one day after similar attacks in Beirut. While the concert acted as a haven of sorts from the bad news filling TV screens around the globe, the boys paid tribute to the Paris attacks, dedicating Believe to the victims and laid a French flag over part of the stage.

The group was more than generous with their time, their career-spanning set totalling nearly two hours. Despite the quality of their new material, it was their familiar, older tunes that undoubtedly had the crowd more excited. I Will Wait and The Cave and Roll Away Your Stone were received with a rousing intensity, even after a long day. Throughout the show, there was a constant exchange of instruments – with banjos and a double bass being traded in for electric guitars. A logistical nightmare perhaps, but the sound was consistent – the softer acoustic songs were not drowned out by the electric numbers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGKfrgqWcv0

Dust Bowl Dance with its almost spoken lyrics ushered in the end of the set. Yet the boys were back before long with an encore featuring their recent single The Wolf which although was executed well, failed to reach the heights of their other singles. By this stage Marcus Mumford, the lead singer could barely open his eyes due to the amount of sweat and/or rain streaming down his face. For the final act, the crowd was crowded as The Vaccines, Jake Bugg and The Jungle Giants joined for a chilling Beatles rendition of With A Little Help From My Friends prompting many in the crowd to join arms with the friends and sway along. And with wet hair, mud encrusted shoes and beaming smiles filling the Domain, Mumford & Sons with their troupe of artists left the stage with deafening applause, continuing their ongoing love affair with Australia.

When Mumford & Sons delivered the news that they would be traversing the wilderness without their beloved banjos, panic emanated from their fans across the globe. How could one of the most iconic bands of the last ten years go on without their most prized instruments? Swapping banjos for electric guitars and stepping into a much more crowded genre, Wilder Mind manages and transcends all expectations with a stunning third foray.

With their Babel world tour coming to a tired and weary end, Mumford and Marshall on a whim bought a 1967 blond Telecaster and a 1974 Gibson 335 from a guitar shop in Chicago. Inspired by new friends and soon-to-be fellow indie rockers The National, they took to the studio to play around with what would become Monster on the new album. Their inner rock was unleashed and the path to Wilder Mind had began.

Wasting no time at all, their new sound is heard from the very first track Tomkins Square Park, with rich electric guitar riffs and heavy drumming. Perhaps the mellow, comfortable early tribute to the New York park is designed to ease rabid fans into their new style and prepare them for what is to come. Mumford’s vocals more than survive the shift, as he embraces and flaunts the added power drums and guitars give to his vocals.

It’s not until lead single Believe that we’re allowed a taste of Marshall’s epic guitar riffs. Stripped back synth of an almost ethereal nature is transformed into a bloody contest of supremacy between Marshall’s guitar riffs and Mumford’s vocals, gaining exponential intensity. Second single The Wolf is equally explosive, with a smattering of guitars thrashing from the outset. The key progression from their previous albums is that verses are increasingly taken by energy infused instrumental sections, no longer merely contained to the background.

Yet these two songs suggest a Lion Little Man-type hit may escape the boys this time around. Considering that these epic first two singles have yet to gain any real traction in the charts, it is unlikely that others will, as it’s all in the same grain.

While the title track Wilder Mind will inevitably be under-appreciated, it has one of the most infectious vocal grabs of the entire album. From a foundation of syncopated drumming, it never tries too hard and is all the better for it. With Snake Eyes and Just Smoke, the songs benefit from the addition of an actual drum kit, rather than the percussion haphazardly created by Mumford’s kick drum. Perhaps as some kind of concession to those still yearning for an acoustic song, Only Love treads the same path as the previous albums with soaring harmonies and a single guitar.

If Babel was considered one dimensional for its obvious focus on romantic problems, Wilder Mind has a far darker, more mysterious edge. It comes as a natural progression after 8 years of writing and touring. Disillusioned by their previous style – both musically and generally (including showing remorse over their name) – it is an attempt to break free of their previous identity and break new ground. On the surface it does seem as though the change merely pushes them into an already overcrowded and unoriginal genre, Wilder Mind succeeds in pushing its own boundaries, opening up a whole new live show that can now incorporate the intimate with stadium filling rock anthems.