Emotionally heavy solo fare from the Mumford boss

The artistic added value is often subtly manageable when frontmen walk on solo paths. Most of the time they deliver the same as the regular combo, plus some “bold” experiments, meaning weaker songs that the bandmates would have otherwise talked them out of. Not so in the case of “Mumford & Sons” boss Marcus Mumford. With his self-titled solo debut, the 35-year-old is now presenting a record that is as intimate as it is heartfelt, and the quality is far better than the previous band albums.

Extremely sparsely instrumented, the ten songs rarely venture into the usual folk rock anthem realm. The heart of the LP recorded in Los Angeles are the two phenomenal opening songs “Cannibal” and “Grace”. The first a harrowingly candid ballad in which Mumford comes to terms with the sexual abuse he suffered at the age of six, the second a soulful, raw country song in which he confesses his trauma to his mother. The rest is also emotionally heavy fare.

Atmospheric, mellow living-room pop Prior Warning is about an intervention his wife held off over Mumford’s out-of-control booze, while the deliciously banging Better Off High deals with the joys of self-medication. But there are also lighter moments on the record, such as the pleasing “Better Angels” and “Go in Light”.

The wet drives the eyes

At the latest by the grandiose final double pack, the one or two slightly weaker tracks are forgiven. Because both “Stonecatcher” sung together with Phoebe Bridgers and “How” (with Brandi Carlile) are delicate folk creeps that immediately make the eyes of even hardened listeners water.

CD review:
Marcus Mumford “Self Titled”
(Universal Music)
OÖN rating: 5 out of 6 stars