By ELISE RYAN
Less than a year since the release of Mumford & Sons’ long-awaited fifth studio album “Rushmere,” the English folk rock band is back with a sixth: “Prizefighter,” an introspective but still upbeat return to their stomp-clap form, now bolstered by new voices.
The album finds the band, made up of lead singer Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane and Ben Lovett, alongside many collaborators. Aaron Dessner of The National coproduces all 14 tracks; features from Chris Stapleton, Gigi Perez of “Sailor Song” viral fame, Hozier and Gracie Abrams punctuate the album. Brandi Carlile, Finneas, Kevin Garrett, Jon Bellion and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver round out the writing credits, alongside Dessner and the band.
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Carlile provided inspiration for the single “Rubber Band Man,” a banjo and acoustic guitar-set reflection on flexibility and recovery featuring verses from Hozier. (Mumford said lyrics for the song came to Carlile in a dream.)
Hozier’s verse, lyrically dense but sonically open, distills the song’s thesis: “But don’t hold to yourself / With hard mortar and stone / Be a rubber band man / Make the water your bones.”
There are some worthy additions to the band’s canon between those features: “Begin Again” and “Stay” are fast-paced and earnest while the poetic closer “Clover” sees Mumford fall into a lullaby-like pace that, sung atop a piano melody, recalls the aching movie musical hit “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. “Conversation With My Son (Gangsters & Angels)” is lyrically repetitive, but still moving.
The feature tracks feel like tentpoles for the project, offering unique and memorable takes on the genre when other songs start to blend together. “Here,” with Stapleton, is the simplest, opening the album with a country-tinged, guitar and drum-forward ballad. Abrams’ whisper-sung tones add layers to Mumford’s on “Badlands.” The lyrics have a sentiment the two artists likely share, a desire to push limits: “Running away from a tame life / Running away like a wild child / Give me a vision, give me a dime.”
Perez’s rich vocals demand attention in the soaring duet “Icarus.” After Mumford’s introduction, Perez offers a warning over piano and guitar. “You’re a fool, you’re a climber / You shoulda called it a night.” Perez and the band sing together at the song’s climax — also, the album’s climax — shakers, maracas and synth bass filling out the track. “I was blinded, I was in love,” they sing together. “But then all at once / I was back to where I begun / I was burned by morning / I got too close to the sun.”
This collaborative approach reflects the spirit of Mumford & Sons’ unique summer tour last year, which saw the group travel by train from Louisiana to Vermont with dozens of musicians and crew, continuing a journey started during a 2011 version of the Railroad Revival Tour. Stops along the way brought out the likes of Nathaniel Rateliff, Trombone Shorty, Lucius, Chris Thile, Maggie Rogers, Noah Kahan and Lainey Wilson, among others. Onstage together, they sang a mix of the band’s songs, featured guests’ songs and other covers.
As the band sings (together) on the uplifting “Run Together”: “But when we run we run together / When we’re apart we fall apart.” Collaboration is king.
“Prizefighter” by Mumford & Sons
Three and a half stars out of five.
On repeat: “Icarus (with Gigi Perez),” “Begin Again”
Skip it: “Alleycat,” “I’ll Tell You Everything”
For fans of: Aaron Dessner’s production universe, like Brandi Carlile’s “Returning to Myself,” Laufey’s “A Matter of Time,” Gracie Abrams’ “The Secret Of Us”
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