Lets just deal with the name first. Mumford & Sons. Not ideal, if you’re trying to be cool that is. There are bands out there with names like Jane’s Addiction, Primal Scream and, of course, The Rolling Stones. Just plain cool. In fact, if there’s one thing the Stones had over the Beatles, it was their name. The Beetles would have been better, but they had to get playful and incorporate the word “beat” into their name. Naughty guys, very naughty. You were young and you thought you were being clever, but no one loves a pun. I guess you made up for it though.

But Mumford & Sons? That’s a lot to make up for. I’m not even sure that John, Paul and the boys could do enough to distract us from that incredibly dorky name. I’ve seen it being mentioned in various music magazines and have sub-consciously just ignored the band. But then I started hearing that they were getting a reputation for incredible live shows with a kind of party atmosphere where everybody just lets loose.

And when you listen to this album, you realise that trying to be hip is the last thing on these guys’ minds. They just love playing their bluegrass inspired acoustic jams and happen to have become quite popular doing it. They’re really talented as well, and the main dude, Marcus Mumford (Shame, terribly surname. What? You named a band after it?!) has a really great voice.

I read quite an interesting article about them in Q Magazine. In it, the lead singer is talking about his love of literature. This album, Sigh No More, is about God and faith and pestilence and plague and is influenced by American writers like John Steinbeck and Cormac McCarthy. Then the writer of the article says, “It is at this point you realise that here is a man who is unlikely to ever share a convivial pint with Liam Gallagher.” Which is quite funny and kind of sums up this band’s character. Incidentally, I went to see Oasis when they were here and they were awful – zero connection to the audience and just played with no feel. I somehow doubt I’d get the same impression from this band.

The lyrics are intense and the songs are folky barnstormers that build and build and have a kind of life-embracing, exuberant quality. There are songs with names like Winter Winds and After the Storm. White Blank Pages has the lyrics, “A white blank page and a swelling rage, rage. You did not think when you sent me to the brink, to the brink. You desired my attention but denied my affections, my affections” all set to a huge stirring melody. Talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve. At first, my reserved side found it maybe slightly melodramatic, but then I started looking forward to indulging in the raw emotion of these tales of heartbreak and the no holds barred singing and playing.  The song Little Lion Man has the refrain, “But it was not your fault but mine, and it was your heart on the line, I really fucked it up this time didn’t I, my dear?” sung with maximum gusto. You can imagine a crowd dancing and singing along with this. People’s imaginations are captured when there’s a human truth to a piece of art. It’s like, yip, we all fuck up now and then, hallelujah!

We played their hit, The Cave, earlier today on 2oceansvibe Radio as part of G-Man’s School of Rock. A certain blonde TV presenter with a deep voice joined us on the show and was not impressed by the song. He found it too “folky”. I can understand where he was coming from, I mean this is not the kind of band All Access are going to feature, and to be fair, my brain had a similar reaction at first. But I truly believe, that if anyone gave this album a chance (and I can’t believe Mumford & Sons has reduced me to this) they would start to realise that this music is all about heart. It’s like the Jerry Maguire of music. You try and resist it, but it’s futile. When Cuba Gooding Jr. screams, “I’m all heart motherfucker!” you’re just going, “Me too Cuba! I’m also all heart! All heart is good!” Because deep down inside we don’t want to be jaded and cynical and cool. We actually want to be passionate about stuff, and do things from the heart and not just for money and recognition. I personally am really glad that this band has become so popular in recent months. It means there is still life out there. Beyond the hype and the way things look and the smoke and mirrors. This band have done the impossible. They’ve made music good enough to live down their terrible name.

G-Man