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8.5
46393
8.5 |
BBC
This is impressive stuff... Mumford & Sons are a fine modern folk band who have found ways to breathe new life into an ancient form of music
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8.5
48439
8.5 |
The AU Review
True, there are no bolts out of the blue, but the songs on this album showcase the great musical and songwriting talent this band possesses
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8.0
46766
8.0 |
State
An album full to the brim of sing-along songs and emboldened textures, Babel is the banjo-filled record of a band still skyrocketing to success
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8.0
46608
8.0 |
Entertainment.ie
This is a confident record where elements of Sigh No More have been embellished and honed. Ultimately, the album is a 'same, but better' success. Though closely related to its predecessor, Babel represents a definite progression
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8.0
46676
8.0 |
Paste Magazine
While the band will undoubtedly be criticized for playing it safe on the new record, there is no denying the music is solid despite its familiarity
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8.0
46394
8.0 |
Clash
While ‘Babel’ is not going to change the face of music as we know it, it will be lapped up by Mumford fans. It’s very much a ‘if it ain’t broke’ album and, for now, that’s okay
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8.0
46398
8.0 |
Mojo
More than just a decent n-folk album, Babel is a great pop album. Print edition only
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8.0
46508
8.0 |
Evening Standard
A band moving on from their folk template without sacrificing their original allure. They’re no flash in the pan
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7.0
46502
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
The power of the arrangements and Marcus Mumford's tortured-vicar vocals is undeniable
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6.7
46625
6.7 |
A.V. Club
It’s not hard to get the feeling that Marcus Mumford has spent his whole life reading the language of the Bible without stopping to think for a second about what any of it means
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6.5
47078
6.5 |
Under The Radar
Initially, the songs on Babel will simply bring to mind favorite tracks on Sigh No More, but the album distinguishes itself with consecutive listens. At the very least, it sounds almost as good, if not better, this time around
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6.0
46685
6.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
Babel is exactly what you would expect it to be. The lyrics are interesting but sometimes cliché, the musicianship is solid, and the album as a whole radiates an upbeat brand of energy that is difficult not to get swept up in
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6.0
46723
6.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Their message hasn’t changed much (despite a few attempted alterations), contained as ever in high energy, life-affirming songs
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6.0
46667
6.0 |
PopMatters
While there are some real gems here, occasionally the songs tend to fade into generic background folk music
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6.0
46675
6.0 |
The Digital Fix
A pleasant way of passing the time and an album sure to sell by the bucket load. But is it anything more than Sigh No More part 2? Probably not
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6.0
46603
6.0 |
All Music
Two albums in and Mumford & Sons still sound like a talented outfit fused to the starting block, paralyzed by the thought of having to truly race for their lives
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6.0
46521
6.0 |
The Independent
Folk music traditionally serves as the conduit for spiky discourse about social and political matters, as well as matters of the heart; but with romance so dominant on this album, it drifts inexorably towards a mainstream pop current of blander concerns
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6.0
46529
6.0 |
Independent on Sunday
After the quadruple-platinum, America-conquering Sigh No More, what you get is more of the same
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6.0
46470
6.0 |
The Guardian
Essentially it's a honing of their 2009 debut, Sigh No More, but with more of the ferocity you encounter in their live show
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6.0
46395
6.0 |
Q
This is ultimately comfortable listening, befitting folk sounds of a resolutely un-freak variety. Print edition only
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6.0
46396
6.0 |
NME
If you can get past the earnest nostalgia and tweedy affectations, this isn't a bad album, just an average one
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6.0
46397
6.0 |
Uncut
Features more of the Mumford's banjo-driven folk-rock stomps. Print edition only
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5.0
46627
5.0 |
Slant Magazine
Much like Sigh No More before it, Babel is just too serious. Too sludgy in their form and trading too much in melodrama and grand but empty gestures,
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4.0
47218
4.0 |
God Is In The TV
Unlike Sigh No More there’s no charming lick of harmony and independence from the masses to distinguish the record from every other on the market
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4.0
47329
4.0 |
Prefix
For those who never liked That Guy Who Plays Acoustic Guitar At The Party, Babel’s gonna sound like the dentist’s drill
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4.0
46525
4.0 |
The Observer
With every crescendo of catgut and steel, their lack of nuance becomes wearing
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4.0
46553
4.0 |
The Scotsman
Aiming for arena anthems, Mumford & Sons have bleached out the charm they had and replaced it with a boring, foggy swath of not much at all
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4.0
46566
4.0 |
The Arts Desk
'Babel' is so catastrophically mistitled it could almost be a joke: rarely has an album felt so musically monolinguistic
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2.5
46657
2.5 |
Pretty Much Amazing
Self-absorbed and profoundly annoying
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2.0
46530
2.0 |
musicOMH
No, really. It truly is awful
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2.0
46517
2.0 |
The Fly
It is an album of stomping hoedowns and widdling banjos, while sticking with each banal plod to the end yields yet-another barn-sized crescendo. Effectively, it is emo for Blacksmiths
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1.0
46868
1.0 |
No Ripcord
As the record passed its final seconds and the sound from my speakers slowly began to silence, I was left with the single, cold realization that I was 47 minutes closer to my own inevitable demise
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0.0
48736
0.0 |
The Quietus
It is a growth on the left bollock of the testicles of f***ing pop. It is a rancified f***ing perversion of all that has gone under the name of folk
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