Like a fiddle without a bow, like a goldminer without a tin pan, that’s Marcus Mumford without the sons on which he built his new folk empire. The band was inescapable during the brief stomp, clap, hey! era of popular music, selling out arenas and taking home Grammys. But that genre went the way of the ol’ coal mine, and Mumford and Sons have been dealing with an extended hiatus. And now, Mumford-in-Chief Marcus has decided to go it alone. He has announced a new album called (self-titled) due out in September.
Well, he’s not entirely alone. The man still has a rolodex and he’s put it to good use, enlisting Mumford Daughters like Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo and more to contribute to the new album, which will be produced by Blake Mills.
“In January 2021, facing demons I danced with for a long time in isolation, I wrote a song called ‘Cannibal,’” Mumford wrote on Instagram. “I took it to my friend Blake Mills, and we began the process of making the album, dear to my heart, called (self-titled).”
According to Variety, Mumford may be leaving his sons for now, but he’s no deadbeat dad. The band remains together, albeit minus Winston Marshall, who took a leave of absence from the band after coming under online criticism for his support of right-wing figures. Is he gone for good or will he return to Marcus Mumford like the prodigal Son himself? Stay tuned.
But for now, you can watch the Son-less Mumford join Brandi Carlile on stage in Los Angeles where he said that “As I was in the process of making a record — with the full blessing and permission of the band that I’m still in — [Carlile] heard a couple of songs and put her arm around me and said, ‘I’m gonna help you do whatever it is you need to do to finish this.’ And so we went into the studio the next day and wrote and recorded this song, which is the last song on the record.”
