1. Babel. I'm coming out with this now, I'm also keeping track of how many songs on this album have either a "whoop!" or a "har-har" part in it. From past listening experience, at least half of the songs fall into one category or the other. That being said, this is a good song that starts off the album, which I will do my best to say doesn't sound like the first album. Even though it might.
Favorite part: The start of the second verse. It's like the first verse, but I like it more, for some reason.
Whoop/Har-Har: Whoop (1:22)
2. Whispers In The Dark. I'm not really sure what to make of this song, I mean it's pretty decent but it's never really been a song I've went out of my way to listen to, unlike some songs on this album. I'll spend this song bringing up the YouTube video and finding out where the whoop is.
Favorite part: The background guitar in the beginning, which is honestly more of an extension of "Babel" than anything to do with this song.
Whoop/Har-Har: More of a "woo!", but it's at 2:26.
3. I Will Wait. This was the first single off the album, and it's pretty decent. Your run-of-the-mill M&S song, which, if you ask the right people, is just like every M&S song.
Favorite part: The piano buildup from 2:30 to 3:17, leading up to none other than...
Whoop/Har-Har: Whoop (3:17)
4. Holland Road. What's cool about this song (and some others by M&S) is that you can simultaneously count in two or in three (one, two, one, two or onetwothree onetwothree). There's definitely a name for when that happens, but I have no idea what it is. This is the first song on the album to feature a har-har, but this one is actually good, as opposed to the cliche har-har that pervades most other M&S songs.
Favorite part: When the brass section pretty much plays the exact same melody as the har-har (another M&S staple). Many find this to be the reason they can't stand this band, but I like it. Expectations are good.
Whoop/Har-Har: Har-Har (2:52 and 3:25)
5. Ghosts That We Knew. This might have been the first song I heard off the album, and it might have been the first one that I showed any affection towards (no correlation). This just feels like a tender song, one that you kind of have to listen to in the right moment, in the right mood.
Favorite part: I'm a huge sucker for choruses that have piano chords playing whole notes, and the first chorus has exactly this. Really peaceful, with a slight feeling of conviction in there. I also love the guitar at 3:55 and 4:14. Perfectly captures the tone of this song.
Whoop/Har-Har: Surprisingly none.
6. Lover Of The Light. I think this was a song I listened to a lot the summer after Babel came out, but it's faded quickly in terms of songs I really enjoy. I do really like the cymbal crash after "lover of the light", and I've always felt that "sanguine eyes" was always a cool phrase, but there really isn't much to this song for me.
Favorite part: The little banjo riff/solo kinda thing that leads into the last chorus of the song.
Whoop/Har-Har: For the second song in a row, neither!
7. Lovers' Eyes. Definitely one of my favorite song off the album. I've always loved toying with the idea of whether or not Marcus Mumford means to say lovers' eyes, or lover's eyes possessive, but the title kind of gives it away as the former. If anything, the cymbal crash in this song is way better than in "Lover Of The Light," and there's another really cool "one, two, onetwothree" part.
Favorite part: The two-minute buildup that features the banjo preparing the brass section preparing the lyrics preparing the har-har. Vintage Mumford & Sons.
Whoop/Har-Har: Har-Har (4:49)
8. Reminder. I almost don't even count this as part of the album. I just don't get it...it's two minutes and five seconds short, while the rest of the album averages in the ballpark of 4:45 per song. This feels like a song that people would play standing on the side of a road, or maybe in Harvard Square or something like that.
Favorite part: 2:05.
Whoop/Har-Har: Neither, but there isn't much time for one anyway.
9. Hopeless Wanderer. Here's where it gets good. This is one hell of a song to play on piano, and equally fun on guitar. The music video says everything that you need to know about what kind of song this is and what kind of band Mumford & Sons is. It's pretty much a crystal ball view into what their music is really like. Portrayed beautifully.
Favorite part: The smashing guitar at 1:41.
Whoop/Har-Har: None, but this song gets a pass because it's so awesome.
10. Broken Crown. This song kicks ass. Easily the closest thing to "Dust Bowl Dance" or "Thistle and Weeds" from Sigh No More. Bonus points to the band for swearing in this song and being really loud. The part that starts "But I will not speak of your sins" is really good and sets up the rest of the song. That part of the song is almost eerily preparing you for something badass to happen.
Favorite part: The yelling part for pretty much the second half of the song. But also the last chorus, because it's real quiet and whispered, but has just as much power as the yelling parts.
Whoop/Har-Har: None, but again, it's okay.
11. Below My Feet. This song is definitely my favorite off the album. A few songs battle every now and then for the second spot on the list, but this one has everything wrapped into a neat little five minutes. I love love love the guitar in the background, pacing the song with sixteenth notes. There are so many great rhythm combinations, too. It's just perfect. Perfect lyrics, too. They make everything seem very real, and in classic Mumford & Sons fashion, seem to flawlessly tread the line between the sacred and the secular. (Ooh, I like that phrase. Sounds like an album title.)
Favorite part: When everything comes together at 3:37, the emotion and the guitar, once in the background, now prevalent with everything else.
Whoop/Har-Har: Har-Har (3:21, and again at 4:12)
12. Not With Haste. Another great line in this song, "And I will love with urgency / But not with haste." It's one of those lines that you don't really know what it exactly means, but you also absolutely know exactly what it means. That's the kind of thing that I love about Mumford & Sons, and it seems like a nice end to the album.
Favorite part: The background harmony is pretty great in this song, but there's no one part that I particularly like over any other. Let's stick with the harmony.
Whoop/Har-Har: None.
Well, there you have it. A whoop or har-har on only six of the twelve songs, which was definitely the under (which I would have probably set at 7.5, for those keeping score at home). This album is certainly no Sigh No More, but it's still a really good album that deserves a listen. At least most of the songs on the album, which you hopefully have gleaned from this blog post. As usual, thanks for listening and thanks for reading!
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