By Shaye Davis, Truman High School, Independence, MO

The band Mumford and Sons released their anxiously awaited album entitled “Babel”  on September 24^th. The 12 track album (15 tracks on the deluxe CD) includes their stylized melodies containing amix of folk, rock, country and bluegrass similar to their previous album from 2010, “Sigh No More.” Most popularly noted for their songs “The Cave” and “Little Lion Man,” the band is more popular in the indie spectrum of music that may be found on 96.5 The Buzz or Alice 102.1. “Bebel” sold more than 600,000 copies its first week in debut, surpassing Justin Bieber’s June release of “Believe,” that only sold 374,000 copies.

My initial opinion of the album was it had that Mumford and Sons essence to it, the passionate singing, the acoustics, as well as the raspy voice of thefeature singer Marcus Mumford. I particularly enjoyed the third track, “I Will Wait” because of its initial build up to the chorus. It has that potential to be another chart topper in resemblance to “Little Lion Man” despite the lack of pop most songs carry on the top 40.

This may be just the plague of not listening to the album enough times, but a lot ofthe songs did sound similar to one another. I had trouble distinguishing the tracks while simultaneously working on homework, but I feel already present fans of the band will be thoroughly impressed. I feel I can learn to gradually appreciate the music more when I explore each song individually, rather than just the album as a bulk. Listening to it a third time now, I’m starting to get a feel of the music now that my attention is more focused.

I would rate this album an 8/10 and recommend to any of my friends who have afeel for a mix of folk and rock. Fans of Florence + the Machine, NEEDTOBREATHE, and Bon Iver should definitely take the time to take a listen to the many plucks and strums that come from the distinguishable Mumford and Sons.