Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 8
  2. Negative: 0 out of 8
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  1. Jun 21, 2016
    83
    Johannesburg’s thrills develop as the band participates in and gently incorporates something unfamiliar--without claiming ownership of it.
  2. Jun 21, 2016
    70
    Mumford & Sons proceed with intention, making this into a listen that's not only more compelling than their 2015 full-length, but one that suggests ways they could grow.
  3. Magnet
    Aug 9, 2016
    60
    The combination here of light electronic production, show-stopping African vocals, Mumford harmonies and heart-on-your-sleeve pop is hard not to love. [No. 133, p.59]
  4. 60
    When the disparate influences mesh properly--as on the irresistible ‘Fool You’ve Landed’--they find a very happy medium.
  5. Jun 24, 2016
    50
    Mercifully, there’s no banjo--the Sons of Johannesburg are the less folksy, more decidedly middle-of-the-road band that recorded last year’s tedious Wilder Mind. That doesn’t save them from falling into 100 percent of all their other tropes, like substituting frenzied, overlong crescendos with truly grandiose stadium rock.
  6. Jun 23, 2016
    50
    Rather than mine the potential depths of a more cohesive collaboration, the two halves often feel disconnected.
  7. Jun 21, 2016
    50
    Too many forced climaxes here lack the organic sense of drama the Mumfords summon at their best, and the pan-African elements aren’t integrated into the pop-rock song structures, so the lively polyrhythms and keening vocals merely decorate the swelling choruses rather than transforming them.

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