Mumford & Sons, Delta - album review

Remember the reaction to 2015's Wilder Mind? While it still charted well in many countries there were those who couldn't accept the band's ditching of their signature banjo-fuelled folk-rock sound in favour of electric riffs. Alright, we're not talking the furore of when Dylan went electric. But it was there nonetheless.

Those who didn't like that will probably hate this. And that is where the band has to be praised.

It would have been simple for them to just rattle off folk-rock record after folk-rock record. Watch the pennies roll in and accept their chart dominance.

But they don't want to do that. Much like American country rockers Kings Of Leon they have not shunned those roots, just decided to try something different.

This dark, broody, electro fourth album actually contains hints of Kings Of Leon within its realms. They also touch upon the auras of Nick Cave, Public Service Broadcasting, Arcade Fire and Tom Odell.

Unfortunately, the record lacks pace and dynamism. A lot of the praise for their inventiveness and change of path is mixed in with a feeling our dourness and, dare we say it - boredom.

Songs like October Skies kind of drift from start to finish with its softly-softly percussion doing very little to quicken the pulse.

There's also Slip Away, which attempts to build emotively to a crescendo finish where the drumming crashes against you like waves. But it meanders a little too passively on the journey to get there.

And Guiding Light wanders too far down the middle of the pop chart road to ever threaten to surprise you. It does have a big sing-along chorus to entertain live crowds, and those verses with the staggered guitars are where the Arcade Fire vibes come in. But the disjointed nature of the track doesn't quite work.

There is good work, though, this isn't just a massive swipe at the material.

Those big beats in Woman anchored by the Jose Gonzalez-like guitars make for one of the record's most immersive moments. The spoken word over Darkness Visible is unnerving and eerie, while Wild Heart is a sweetly calming mix of piano and keys that pulls at the heartstrings with its rising and falling melodies.

This record could prove to be immensely Marmite.

Rating: 5/10

Mumford & Sons bring their mammoth world tour to Birmingham's Genting Arena on Friday