Mumford & Sons” second album, “Babel,” will come out Sept. 25. The British folk rock group broke through in 2009 with the wildly successful “Sigh No More,” which spawned such hits as “Little Lion Man” and “The Cave.”
The group began previewing tracks from the new album earlier this year at some radio station events, as well as playing three new tunes at SXSW: “Lovers Eyes,” “Lover of the Light” and “Ghosts That We Knew.”
M&S will precede the album”s release with a short U.S. tour that will include their own curated multi-artist festivals, dubbed Gentlemen of he Road stopovers.
The transition from touring to recording was a little difficult at first, says the band in a statement. “At first, we peeled ourselves of the road quite reluctantly. WE love playing live, obviously, but it had also become an important part of our creative process. We had been writing and rehearsing in soundchecks and sort of ‘roadtesting” new songs on our very gracious audiences. But then we fell in love with recording again.”
The group worked with producer Markus Dravs, who also helmed “Sigh No More.”
The track list for “Babel” reveals titles that seem appropriately haunting for the group’s melodic, yet sometime melancholy, music: in addition to “Ghosts That We Knew,” there are such intriguing titles as “Hopeless Wanderer” and “Whispers In The Dark” and “Broken Crown.”
“Babel” Tracklisting:
1. Babel
2. Whispers In The Dark
3. I Will Wait
4. Holland Road
5. Ghosts That We Knew
6. Lover Of The Light
7. Lovers’ Eyes
8. Reminder
9. Hopeless Wanderer
10. Broken Crown
11. Below My Feet
12. Not With Haste