Mumford and Sons occupy a strange spot. Enough banjo to intrigue the suburbanites, enough reverb and beard oil to get on pop radio. For years they have remained firmly stuck in the ‘stomp, clap, hey’ lane co-inhabited by bands like the Lumineers. Their attempt to appeal to both pop and roots audiences has led to some of the most milquetoast Americana on the radio today.
Which made it surprising when I tuned into SNL and saw them performing their newest single, Here, with Sierra Ferrell. The song was recorded with Chris Stapleton— talk about calling in backup. Were Marcus and his so-called sons looking to establish their Americana credential?
The song is … fine. The “introspective lyrics” their PR sheet promises include gems such as “can you hold all my secrets / can we swear that we can’t forget?” Wow, never heard that one before. Ultimately, Here falls into the same trap as most other Mumford and Sons tracks. Borderline poignant lyrics are laid over basic roots instrumentation. Slap a folky album cover on there (An old Zippo showing its patina… get it?) and call it “Americana.”
Ultimately though, Here sounds like just about every other Mumford and Sons song, which is to say it sounds like half the Lumineers’ discography, and like last-gasp Gen X adult alternative songwriters everywhere.
Too bad. Earlier efforts, like “Sigh No More,” and “Babel,” were interesting because they carved a new lane in the alt-pop world. Maybe Mumford and Sons should go back to banjo.