CREDIT: MUMFORD & SONS
This album hits the palette like an unsalted cracker.

Bands go through a lot of changes over the years; members leave, new muses surface and the pressure of turning into a pop music takes its toll. Mumford & Sons, the band made famous for its banjo-driven, high tempo folk music, has recently gone through one of these drastic transformations.

Its latest album Wilder Mind sees the band laying down the folk instruments to pick up electric guitars and keyboards. Mumford & Sons released its latest album on May 4, a month behind its first single, “The Wolf.”

When a band changes genres like this it’s always trepid waters, usually spanning the next two albums as the ripples smooth themselves out. Wilder Mind is a relatively mellow album for Mumford & Sons, and it seems like the band may be at a loss for replacing the prominent banjo picking from their previous releases. The change from pop/folk into the realm of alt-rock has been anything but successful.

All in all this album sounds like an easy-money, cash-grab with no real identity. All of the songs on this album follow a meticulous structure with little variance. A number of songs are so similar in fact, that it is hard to distinguish them.

With a name like Wilder Mind, the album is actually quite mellow, as if the band had burnt out and regretted its decision halfway through making it. In comparison to singles like “I Will Wait” and “Little Lion Man,” which were anthemic and filled with energy, even the most energetic songs off Wilder Mind feel soulless and bland.

Everything on this album seems to drag on with no real innovations or deviations from the initial song’s format. Mumford & Sons was so focused on making a true alternative rock record that the band lost any identity that could have made this album unique.

The lowest point of this album comes in the song titled after the album, “Wilder Mind.” The song is carried through with a simple drumbeat that offers little to no variation throughout. Although the song seems to be building consistently, it never quite reaches a satisfying resolve. Even the highest point of the song offers nothing more than a sparse six-note guitar solo. The guitars for the most part are drowned out by the warm synth pads, which dominate most of the album.

Despite being a good album to fall asleep to, Wilder Mind does come with two highlight songs. The tune “Just Smoke” is possibly the only optimistic sounding song on the album; opening with a loud and upbeat jam featuring playful piano and tambourines that bring a refreshing pop vibe. Crowd vocals and claps brought in on the choruses finally deliver a sound big enough to believe there’s an entire band behind it. The second highlight comes near the end of the album in “Ditmas,” which is the closest Mumford & Sons comes to achieving a rock tune. Although it starts quite bare, the song continues to develop and reaches a level of excitement not prevalent in the rest of the album. If Mumford & Sons had tried to model Wilder Mind off the excitement contained in “Ditmas,” it might have had a higher replay value.

If you’re hoping to hear fast-paced guitar trills in place of the prominent banjo, you’re going to be disappointed. Wilder Mind is filled with minimalist piano ballads and shallow songs that would be a more suitable backdrop for a rainy fall than a warm summer.

Rating: 1 out of 5