Mumford & Sons to 'start again' for second album sessions



Mumford and Sons intend to "tear down" everything they've achieved this year and start from scratch when they begin work on their second album.

Speaking in this week's issue of NME, which is on UK newsstands now, or available digitally worldwide, the group explained they intend to take stock before sessions for their second record begin next year.

"I would like – to an extent – to tear down everything we built with 'Sigh No More' and start again with the second album," declared keyboard player Ben Lovett. "There are things in our lives that carry more weight and substance than simply saying, 'Things are going really well, let's write some songs about that.' There's more to life than the success of this band."

Frontman Marcus Mumford even predicted the band could face a backlash soon.

"We've had a very long honeymoon period," he explained. "I'm sure that people will start disliking us more publicly, because our music is becoming more public and not everyone is going to like it."

Mumford & Sons plan to finish new album before end of the year

Mumford and Sons have announced plans to record their second album before the end of the year.

The band told Rolling Stone they have already written six tracks in Louisiana and are planning to road test the material before hitting the studio with Markus Dravs, who produced their 2009 debut 'Sigh No More'.

Keyboardist Ben Lovett commented: "We want to get the second album recorded this year, and we’re hoping to have gigged the record in before going to the studio."

'Lover Of The Light', which the band have been playing live on recent tours, "should go all the way through to the next record", he said.

"Ultimately we’re trying to write better and better songs, and songs that are truer to ourselves. And if we end up writing 10 to 15 songs better than that one, it will just have to sit on the B-side of the tape somewhere," Lovett added.

The band have previously told NME that they plan to "tear everything down" that they achieved with 'Sigh No More' and have also predicted they could face a backlash over their success.

Mumford And Sons are set to tour the US on a train next month, stopping to play six gigs in California, Texas and Louisiana.

The Railroad Revival Tour, which will see the band eat sleep and record music on the train, will be filmed for a documentary.

Mumford And Sons unveil second album plan - video

Mumford and Sons have laid out their intentions for the follow-up to their million selling debut 'Sigh No More'.

In a video interview you can watch by scrolling down now, singer Marcus Mumford said the band are continuing to roadtest their new album ahead of their forthcoming railroad tour of the US, which kicks off later this week (April 21).

"It's nice because we like to keep the live thing going because that's the thing we love the most and we're not the kind of band that can close ourselves off for a year to make this masterpiece record," he told Rolling Stone.

"We've pieced it [the album] together from ideas we've had in soundchecks and songs that we're writing at the time," he added.

"We really find it helpful to play the songs live so this is the best preparation to record our new album."

The band recently revealed that they've already written six new songs for the follow-up to their 2009 debut and they are planning to record their new album before the end of the year.

Video: http://www.rollingstone.com/videos/new- ... N0I4Um7yul

New Mumford & Sons' song 'Home' released online - audio

A new track by Mumford and Sons has hit the internet amid speculation that the song will feature on the band's forthcoming second album.

The folk group have previewed the song, and a host of new material, during their sets at this summer's festivals, but this is the first high quality recording of the track.

It comes courtesy of a session on Colorado radio station KBCO and you can hear it by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking.

The track has not been given a name formally. but is already being dubbed 'Home' by the group's online fan base.

While there has been no formal announcement for when the folk quartet will release their follow-up album to 2009's 'Sigh No More', rumours suggest it could on the shelves by the end of the year.

Recently Mumford and Sons played The Other Stage at Glastonbury, as well as a secret gig at the Strummerville area of the site.

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Mumford & Sons have announced their highly anticipated sophomore album, "Babel," will be released on Sept. 25 and include twelve new songs from British folk-rockers. Produced by Markus Dravs, who helmed the multi-platinum debut "Sigh No More," the album started to take shape after the foursome reluctantly took time off from touring.

"We had started writing new songs well before we got into the studio to record," the band says. "At first, we peeled ourselves off the road quite reluctantly. We love playing live, obviously, but it had also become an important part of our creative process, we had been writing and rehearsing in soundchecks, and sort of 'road-testing' new songs on our very gracious audiences.

But then we fell in love with recording again."

The cover for "Babel" shows the London-based band -- Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall, Ben Lovett, Ted Dwane -- seated in front of what looks to be a lively English party complete babies, beer and a horse. Song titles, being released on Glassnote, include "Whispers in the Dark," "Holland Road" and "Broken Crown."

They say the new songs are a "natural progression" from 2009's "Sigh No More," which has sold over 2.2 million copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

"As a band, we've never been closer or more collaborative, all working to our strengths," they say. "And so we feel that this record is a natural progression that we're proud of, and we cannot wait to take it out on the road."

The group will continue their Gentlemen of the Road Stopover Shows this Summer in America, and have announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand for later in the year. Tour dates and information on how to pre-order "Babel" can be found here.

"Babel" Tracklisting:
1. Babel
2. Whispers In The Dark
3. I Will Wait
4. Holland Road
5. Ghosts That We Knew
6. Lover Of The Light
7. Lovers' Eyes
8. Reminder
9. Hopeless Wanderer
10. Broken Crown
11. Below My Feet
12. Not With Haste