Sigh No More
by Mumford & Sons
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. AllMusic
    60
    Sigh No More is an impressive debut, but one that impresses more for its promise of the future than it does its wildly inconsistent place in the present.
  2. Drowned In Sound
    50
    Despite any popularity which may come their way, what Mumford & Sons have produced in Sigh No More is nothing more than an empty shell of a half-decent record.
  3. NOW Magazine
    60
    They're not at their strongest when echoing the reverb-filled harmonies of Fleet Foxes, but when they drop their instrumental restraint, they achieve an alluring balance of plaintive folk and upbeat bluegrass.
  5. The Guardian
    60
    It's a promising start, and once Marcus Mumford develops the storytelling skills of US counterparts such as the Low Anthem, there will surely be better to come.
  6. Uncut
    60
    Their accomplished bluegrass, folk and country hybrid expresses the heartache familiar to fans of Will Oldham and Damien Rice. [Nov 2009, p.94]
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Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Most Discussed Album of 2010
34
#34 Most Shared Album of 2010

User Reviews

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User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 215 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 171 out of 215
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 215
  3. Negative: 27 out of 215
  1. RoverJones
    May 23, 2011
    3
    I'm sorry but I've gotta go along with Pitchfork on this one. It has one song that sticks, I guess for lyrical/personal/whatever reasons. ("II'm sorry but I've gotta go along with Pitchfork on this one. It has one song that sticks, I guess for lyrical/personal/whatever reasons. ("I Gave You All." I freakin' love that song.) But the aesthetic from one song to the next is *identical.*

    I'm not saying that they don't have a certain knack for building up the tempo to a cacophony and letting Marcus Mumford's voice ride the instruments like a wave. They're not half bad at it. But they aren't exactly the best there's ever been, yet they do it on EVERY SONG. On a contemporary level, Arcade Fire and The Decemberists easily have them beat at that. What makes those bands as good as they are (or great, in Arcade Fire's case) is that they don't copy this formula on every song. They show off their wealth of other talents.

    When you can do something pretty-well-but-not-great, as M&S do with their folk anthemic climaxes, you should think about switching it up and writing a new song once in a while. And P4k, I'm sad to say, is spot on. When every song has the exact same formula, the album as a whole starts to sound disingenuous and I become totally disconnected with it. Imagine if Fleet Foxes had used the wordless chorus-double verse-A Capella 3-4-part harmonies on EVERY song on Sun Giant as they did with Mykonos. It would've been horrible, and a real slight to the genre of folk rock.

    I'm not going to say that this isn't a good band. (Yet.) If they could chill on the soft-loud formula like some sort of folk rock Nirvana, maybe use it on one or two songs in an album, and use the rest of the space for--I dunno--something else, I can hear what they're made of.    … Full Review »
  2. pete409
    Dec 6, 2010
    10
    Absolutely amazing music. I just discovered them a week ago and can't stop listening to them. The lyrics are well done, with an intelligentAbsolutely amazing music. I just discovered them a week ago and can't stop listening to them. The lyrics are well done, with an intelligent feel to them.… Full Review »
  3. PaulT
    Feb 16, 2010
    3
    I just do not understand this one at all... it's just so gratingly soulless, and feels like a corporate A&R driven version of the last 3 I just do not understand this one at all... it's just so gratingly soulless, and feels like a corporate A&R driven version of the last 3 years of left alternative folk..... like The Pogues but with the grit produced out to FM blandness.… Full Review »
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