“Come get lost in a fairground crowd” and listen to the new single by the long time folk rock band Mumford and Sons. On Jan. 17, the group released their first single in seven years, “Rushmere,” followed by an announcement of their upcoming album being released on March 28, 2025.
With the resurgence of mid 2010ss and Tumblr culture, there is no better time for a band like Mumford and Sons to have their comeback. The English band, a mix of folk, rock and pub-style music, dominated stomp-and-holler playlists across the first half of the 2010s. Their country feel (fueled by a consistent use of the banjo), paired with poetic lyricism and emotional melodies, made the band an instant classic for coffee hipsters.
If you’re unsure if you would recognize their songs, I recommend visiting their first two albums, “Sigh No More” or “Babel” and perusing hits like “I Will Wait” and “Little Lion Man,” some of their biggest hits, putting them on the map early in their career. As the band navigated their success, their music evolved with them. Over the course of their four studio albums, they experimented with different folk-rock vibes until their most recent album, “Delta,” released in 2018. This album represented a divergence of their usual sound; less banjos and mandolins, and more electronica and synth pop. While the album contained some highlights, it was safe to say it altogether felt like a different sound and therefore, a different band.
Fast-forward to today, as they release their newest work entitled “Rushmere,” the single and the upcoming album. Upon my first listen to the new single, I was pleasantly surprised. Right off the bat, the song starts up again with their nostalgic pub-rock feel, with a quick recognition of the banjo and mandolin that the group has made themselves known for.
The song is emotionally driven, much like some of their older stuff. Towards the end, it builds up to a key change and the string instruments rise in passion. There is even a hint of trumpet, a classic Mumford and Sons feature, to wrap up the tune with a sense of finality. The steady beat of the snare drum emulates their perfect pub-stomping feel, as it becomes hard to not tap a toe along to the rhythm.
It wouldn’t be a true Mumford and Sons song without an isolated vocal from Marcus Mumford, which in this song can be found right before the last chorus. The lyrics he performs are poetic in nature, painting images and reintroducing quintessential Mumford themes such as the personification of light (“light me up”) and the human heart (“restless hearts”).
To me, the song is a perfect representation of what’s to come from the band — something that sounds like their staple sound. Strung together with strong lyrics and a fervent melody, Mumford and Sons is showing their audiences they have not forgotten their roots, and after seven years, they are ready to prove it.
