Mumford & Sons will release their third album, 'Wilder Mind', on the 4th May 2015 through Gentlemen of the Road/Island Records. It will be preceded by a new single, ‘Believe', on the 27th April.
'Wilder Mind' was recorded at Air Studios, London and produced by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, HAIM, Florence & The Machine). It features twelve new tracks, written collaboratively by the band in London, Brooklyn, and Texas. A number of the new songs were written and demod at Aaron Dessner’s (The National) garage studios in Brooklyn. The band also returned to Eastcote Studios in London, where they recorded 'Sigh No More', for further writing and demo sessions.
This new album marks a significant departure for the young British band from their previous records, 2009’s 'Sigh No More', and 2012’s ‘Babel'. The early sessions in New York and London witnessed a change in the band’s approach not just to writing and recording, but to texture and dynamics, too. There is a minimalist yet panoramic feel to the new album, whose sound Marcus Mumford describes as “a development, not a departure.” It came about by both accident, and by conscious decision.
“Towards the end of the Babel tour, we’d always play new songs during soundchecks, and none of them featured the banjo, or a kick-drum. And demoing with Aaron meant that, when we took a break, we knew it wasn’t going to involve acoustic instruments. We didn’t say: ‘No acoustic instruments.’ But I think all of us had this desire to shake it up. The songwriting hasn’t changed drastically; it was led more by a desire to not do the same thing again. Plus, we fell back in love with drums! It’s as simple as that.”
“It felt completely natural, though,” says Ben Lovett, “like it did when we started out. It was very much a case of, if someone was playing an electric guitar, drums were going to complement that best; and, sonically, it then made sense to add a synth or an organ. We chose instruments that played well off each other, rather than consciously trying to overhaul it.”
'Wilder Mind' Tracklisting:
Tompkins Square Park, Believe, The Wolf, Wilder Mind, Just Smoke, Monster, Snake Eyes, Broad-Shouldered Beasts, Cold Arms, Ditmas, Only Love, Hot Gates.
Following the recent announcement of the band’s headline performance at this year's Reading & Leeds Festivals, and appearances at Bonaroo, Open’er Festival, Bilbao BBK Live, Nos Alive Festival, and Squamish Festival, Mumford & Sons are very pleased to announce the first details and line-ups for their 2015 Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers, including a UK Stopover in Aviemore, Scotland.
Joining the band over the Stopovers will be the likes of The Foo Fighters, Primal Scream, The Flaming Lips, Ben Howard, The Vaccines, Simian Mobile Disco DJs, The Maccabees, My Morning Jacket, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Lianne La Havas, and Jenny Lewis. For full line-up details, see below.
Gentlemen of the Road presents…The Stopovers
Seaside Heights, New Jersey, USA
5th June + 6th June – Mumford & Sons, The Flaming Lips, Alabama Shakes, The Vaccines, The Maccabees, Dawes, The Very Best, Jenny Lewis, Little May, JEFF The Brotherhood, Blake Mills + more TBC
Waverly, Iowa, USA
19th June + 20th June - Mumford & Sons, The Flaming Lips, My Morning Jacket, Dawes, Jenny Lewis, The Maccabees, The Very Best, Rubblebucket, JEFF The Brotherhood, Blake Mills + more TBC
Aviemore, Scotland, UK
31st July + 1st August – Mumford & Sons, Ben Howard, Primal Scream, The Maccabees, Simian Mobile Disco DJs, Lianne La Havas, Jack Garratt, King Charles, Honeyblood + more TBC
Walla Walla, Washington, USA
14th August + 15th August - Mumford & Sons, Foo Fighters, The Flaming Lips, The Vaccines, Dawes, Jenny Lewis, TuneYards, James Vincent McMorrow, JEFF The Brotherhood, Blake Mills + more TBC
Salida, Colorado, USA
21st August + 22nd August - Mumford & Sons, The Flaming Lips, Dawes, Jenny Lewis, The Vaccines, TuneYards, James Vincent McMorrow, JEFF The Brotherhood, Blake Mills + more TBC
