Mumford & Sons have seemingly reinvented themselves for their forthcoming Wilder Mind LP. In place of plucky banjos and old-timey suspenders, they've picked up electric guitars and cool leather jackets. Their previous look and sound suggested they were artisanal cheesemongers or something, and they've entirely rejected the old Mumford in a new interview.
Speaking with NME, the band's Ben Lovett said he can't really handle looking at old pictures of the band. "I think it would be fair to say that we've noticed that in some of our old photos we look like absolute idiots," he said. "There were so many car crashes. We look like us in our photos now. I don't even want to describe how we used to look."
That said, Mumford main-man Marcus said the shift in sound and look was organic. "We didn't sit down and say, 'Let's wear leather guys,'" he said. "Over an eight-year period you behave differently. You go to different places, you probably have different friends. You wear different clothes. We didn't hire a stylist and say, 'Let's rebrand ourselves.'"
Speaking of rebranding, Mumford also revealed that the band's name is a real pain in the nuts. "I definitely regret the band name. If I'd known it was going to go this way I would have wanted to call it anything other than my last name," he said, adding some perfect British slang. "It's a ball-ache. We thought about changing it but it's a bit late now."
Meanwhile, the band have shared another taste of their electric sound with a performance video for "Snake Eyes," which you can watch below.
Mumford & Sons' plugged-in Wilder Mind arrives on May 5 through Island Records.
Speaking with NME, the band's Ben Lovett said he can't really handle looking at old pictures of the band. "I think it would be fair to say that we've noticed that in some of our old photos we look like absolute idiots," he said. "There were so many car crashes. We look like us in our photos now. I don't even want to describe how we used to look."
That said, Mumford main-man Marcus said the shift in sound and look was organic. "We didn't sit down and say, 'Let's wear leather guys,'" he said. "Over an eight-year period you behave differently. You go to different places, you probably have different friends. You wear different clothes. We didn't hire a stylist and say, 'Let's rebrand ourselves.'"
Speaking of rebranding, Mumford also revealed that the band's name is a real pain in the nuts. "I definitely regret the band name. If I'd known it was going to go this way I would have wanted to call it anything other than my last name," he said, adding some perfect British slang. "It's a ball-ache. We thought about changing it but it's a bit late now."
Meanwhile, the band have shared another taste of their electric sound with a performance video for "Snake Eyes," which you can watch below.
Mumford & Sons' plugged-in Wilder Mind arrives on May 5 through Island Records.
