Delta - Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons finally did it. They shed the “banjo band” skin.  If their last album, Wilder Mind was their breaking from the stereotypes surrounding them, then their fourth album, Delta, is a declaration of limitless potential. Delta reveals a band unhindered by expectations, willing to try and explore previously untouched areas and sounds. This is a band that has decided to use all the tools in the toolbox, to mix and meld a variety of ideas as they forge towards a new direction. Delta feels like the band is breathing, truly breathing, and revealing their own potential. It’s an honest and vulnerable work from the band, both musically and lyrically. It feels very cohesive, with tracks flowing into each other and referencing cross-tracks.

These also a big sense of exploration in this album. Different genres and elements are introduced that feel quite different and out there for the group. Hip hop, pop, and R&B all find their place throughout tracks in various parts of the instrumental. "Woman" and "Rose of Sharon" both feature hip-hop influenced beats, with the chorus of the latter even having some pop tendencies; the choral vocals, the clap beat, and the synths all showing a modern influence in the organics of the band's usual sound. "Picture You" definitely showcases some pop influence even stronger, yet in a way that still feels very natural for the band. Not only is the album different in terms of genre exploration, but also in variation of sounds. While Wilder Mind was a step in the right direction for the band with the rock focus, Delta shows how big the band can go beyond that. The scope of the album was broader, with more variation, contrast and highs and lows. It creates a more engaging experience than before, drawing the listener along for a wild ride. The track that does this the best, to me, is “The Wild”, a track that starts of soft and slow and beautiful and finally erupts into this huge, epic sound that still retains the beauty from before. The orchestral elements add layers, showcasing the band’s ability to creat and orchestrate beyond their usual instruments and sound space.

There are stories to be heard in these tracks, songs that bleed into and reference each other. Sequences reveal shorter tales in the middle, series of tracks that rise and fall on their own within the larger scope of the album as a whole. My favorite sequence is “Picture You”, “Darkness Visible”, and “If I Say”.  Not only does it sonically ebb and flow, but lyrically and thematically as well. “Picture You” feels like a reminder, a calling out to the Lord in spite of the darkness visible, the darkness ever approaching or looming. “Darkness Visible” brings the storm to life, the eerie sounds blending with the instruments as an excerpt from John Milton’s Paradise Lost is recited - tying in even more to the religious and spiritual aspect of the sequence. It grows into this loud, booming section that’s heavy and intense, bringing to mind a battle - in this case, perhaps for the soul. “If I Say” brings the sequence to a close, starting off stripped and bare after the conflict, yet building back slowly with hope and love. The story conveyed is absolutely captivating; breathtaking music that builds its own world yet tells a story so relatable and timeless - the struggle between hope and despair, light and darkness, good and evil.

Delta is the band’s most ambitious outing to date. It reveals the butterfly bursting from the cocoon, the long gestating form of a band that has a long career ahead of them, full of new surprises along the way. This album is easily one of the best of this year, and I certainly think it’s the best work from this band so far.

Rating: 5/5

Recommended: "The Wild", "Picture You/Darkness Visible/If I Say" (all as a sequence), "Forever"