PMA | Pretty Much Amazing

SPIN hooked up with Jeremiah Weed at this year’s Bonnaroo music festival to bring us “Jeremiah Weed’s Backyard” with interviews of some of our favorite bands. Over a dozen bands were interviewed (including comedienne Margaret Cho), but we’ve picked out our favorites down below: (more…)

We called Mumford & Sons’ Sigh No More too much of a good thing in our review of the album. What, then, should we say about their cover of Vampire Weekend’s frantic and jaunty “Cousins”? Other than the fact that I’ve been smiling like a fool throughout the entire quadruple loop I put the mp3 on, there isn’t much to say, except that Mumford & Sons, who have become somewhat like the Vampire Weekend of bluegrass/folk, certainly leave their methodical mark on “Cousins”.

Are you ready for the unapologetic, sheer epicness that awaits you? Listen to and download the cover below: (more…)

CD giveaway details at the end of the review.
Mumford & Sons
Sigh No More
Glassnote Records
out February 16th
71/100
[Rating Scale]

I’m of two minds about Mumford & Sons’ debut album, Sigh No More. If you played me a single track from the album – any track at all, mind you – I would say to you “I would love to hear this album!” Every single track, digested in a single bite, is delicious. If you fed me four songs from the LP – any four songs, mind you – I would say “I am going to love this album!” The songs are consistently good, and taken in a reasonable portion they hit the spot.

So why, after listening to the album in its entirety multiple times, am I uncomfortably full? I find myself pushing away from the table having eaten a few bites too many, engorged and over-sated. To use a cliché, the album is just a little too much of a good thing.

Take, for example, the album’s title track, the opening tune. On a normal album, a song like “Sigh No More” would be a zenith, an epic climax that became the focal track of the record. In the context of Sigh No More the album, however, it is merely the first in a series of slow starting, crescendo-ing tracks that drop away to nearly a cappella breaks before building back to a finish. Mumford & Sons has identified the formula used so well (sparingly) by bands like Arcade Fire and Freelance Whales, and they have replicated it beautifully. On every song. (more…)

Mumford and Sons make the type of life-affirming, melancholy tracks that are tough to listen to without getting the chills. Just try to get past the 16 second mark of “Little Lion Man” without its first lush banjo chord making your heart sink a notch. Try hitting 1:32 of “White Blank Page” without feeling a surge of emotion, without feeling absolutely overpowered and overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the music.

The best part of Mumford and Sons’ tunes, however, is that as overpowering as they may be, they are all equally low-key and simplistic. Songs are relatively quiet, mostly driven by guitar, banjo, and vocals, with barely any thundering percussion, newfangled beats, or unnecessary handclaps. No, Mumford’s music is undeniably pure, and that’s what makes it so good. All sounds song as if they are being played live in your bedroom, and lead singer Marcus Mumford has the ability (similar to Charlie Fink of Noah and the Whale) to make each lyric, each moment, a punch to the gut or a tug at the heartstrings.

While “White Blank Page” is surely Mumford and Sons’ best-crafted song and “Little Lion Man” the clear fan favorite, my personal favorite is “Winter Winds,” a gem off of their debut album, Sigh No More. “Winds” kicks off with a flourish of horns out of Beirut’s playbook, and doesn’t let up from there, with a powerful, sing-along chorus not catchy in the traditional sense, but memorable nonetheless. Sigh No More comes out here in the states on February 16^th. Listen to our favorite tracks below: (more…)

Photo by Kevin Cooley

Last week the PMACAST celebrated its twenty-fifth installment on its one year anniversary — yet no one wished us a Happy Birthday! What rude listeners we have.

Anyway, moving on to the twenty-sixth episode, we are looking at 2010′s first quarter in music releases. I’ve assembled a 17-song playlist that will hopefully give you a nice taste of the album’s we’ve liked that will be released in Twenty-Ten. Download the mp3 below, find the tracklist after the jump.

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 MP3: PMACAST No.026: Play Now | Download

 M4A: PMACAST No.026 (w/ Chapters): Download

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