Babel

1. BeaarSpark

   Nov 5, 2012

   10

   DaGuruDette knows little about the sheer brilliance of music. The songs a catchy with heartfelt feeling and the lyrics sublime. This isDaGuruDette knows little about the sheer brilliance of music. The songs a catchy with heartfelt feeling and the lyrics sublime. This is /Mumford & Sons at their very best. Sigh No More was the intro. This is the main story.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
2. Jamison12

   Jun 6, 2013

   10

   Mumford continues to reunite society with a lost sound of music. Instead of the annoying and irritating hip hop and pop, and artists such asMumford continues to reunite society with a lost sound of music. Instead of the annoying and irritating hip hop and pop, and artists such as Lil Wayne and Maroon 5. Mumford and Sons bring folk music storming back with one of the best albums in the 2010's… Expand

   • 2 of 2 users found this helpful
4. Hooky586

   Sep 25, 2012

   10

   Mumford & Sons are back and better than ever! This is an excellent sophomore album from this wonderful back band from England. It is betterMumford & Sons are back and better than ever! This is an excellent sophomore album from this wonderful back band from England. It is better than Sigh No More? Probably not better, but just as good. I am currently on my 5th listen and I absolutely love it.… Expand

   • 5 of 10 users found this helpful
5. CaptainThom

   Jun 26, 2013

   8

   The amount of criticism this album has received seems completely unfair while i agree the band could have aimed for something new its onlyThe amount of criticism this album has received seems completely unfair while i agree the band could have aimed for something new its only their second album and when reviewed on its own merits i fail to see the problem.
   
   Babel is a good album with catchy songs in keeping with their folk-rock style that's appealing to a wide range of audiences.… Expand

   • 2 of 2 users found this helpful
6. IAmJacksBrain

   Nov 4, 2012

   7

   It's a very "if it aint broke, don't fix it album". Mumford sticks to the strengths that made them an international success with Sigh No More.It's a very "if it aint broke, don't fix it album". Mumford sticks to the strengths that made them an international success with Sigh No More. Babel has an "arena-folk" type feel to it with a few very catchy tunes. The songs range from darker biblical inspired themes to catchy and fun stomp-your-feet-to-the-beat tunes. If your a fan of Mumford and Sons this is a good buy. If your not a fan of Mumford and Sons well that is your right and no judgement is passed on you by me.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
7. Mab_987

   Nov 24, 2012

   6

   I absolutely LOVE their debut Sigh No More. One of my favorite popular albums of 2009. Despite this however, I detected some hints ofI absolutely LOVE their debut Sigh No More. One of my favorite popular albums of 2009. Despite this however, I detected some hints of redundancy structurally on it, which I hoped they'd fix on their sophomore album. Spoiler alert: THEY DIDN'T! Now you'd think I, as a Mumford & Sons fan, would be thrilled that they'd release an album that sounds exactly like their debut. But that's not how I listen to music. I want bands to develop. I want bands to evolve. I want bands to experiment stylistically. Or if they don't, they should at least keep their sound interesting. Sadly, none of this happens. Instead we get a watered-down, boring, predictable & rehashed version of their debut without nearly as many memorable melodies & lyrics. Even when they did this repetitive formula on Sigh No More, they at least either gave songs different emotional vibes or (to some extent) different musical styles, or at least made them catchy enough that I wouldn't mind. Here, it's nearly all the same, but this time with a slight hint of overproduction that makes a lot of the instruments just bleed together a lot of the time. There's only a few songs here where something actually sticks in your head or makes any real impact. The rest of the time it's somewhat poetic yet predictable lyrics with themes we've already heard over & over on previous Mumford & Sons songs (HE SAYS THE WORD "HEART" IN 9/12 OF THE SONGS ON THE STANDARD EDITION!) combined with forgettable instrumentation & melodies that rarely even try to be catchy, but when they do it's not nearly enough to save it from mediocrity. And even sometimes when the melodies themselves are good, they don't get good until the structure they've confined themselves in will allow it to be good. Sometimes it doesn't get good until the loud part, or sometimes it stops being good at the loud part. Heck, Reminder is the only song here that stays in one mode, and it's absolutely gorgeous! The bonus tracks For Those Below & Where Are You Now also deviate a little, and they'd be very refreshing to hear on the standard edition. And holy crap, can Winston please play more than one banjo picking pattern?! It's the same one on every song! Now if there's one thing I can say is a constant positive throughout Babel, it's that Marcus' vocals most of the time have a lot of passion & sincerity, which makes it even more sad that he insists on using them on these bland tracks There were even times when I wished I could've been there at the recording sessions to tell him to sing a particular melody in a slightly different way to make it better. Bottom line: okay album but it's very fair to say they've stagnated big-time with this one. Please, Mumford & Sons, try something different next time. Doesn't have to be a complete stylistic transformation but still, do something more interesting than this. The "dramatic buildup" gimmick is getting old. Favorite tracks (in order): I Will Wait, Reminder, Babel, Hopeless Wanderer, Lover of the Light, For Those Below (bonus track), Broken Crown, Holland Road. Least favorite tracks: All the other ones. None are really "bad" though. Just boring, even if they're notable lyrically (i.e. Ghosts That We Knew & Not With Haste). Overall score: 62/100… Expand

   • 1 of 3 users found this helpful
8. Apart

   Sep 25, 2012

   0

   I will just quote musicOMH.com: "It truly is awful."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   • 2 of 14 users found this helpful

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