Marcus Mumford - (self-titled)

  by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 8 / 11 / 2022

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Review

‘(self-titled’) is Marcus Mumford's first solo album. He puts aside the banjos and mandolins of his regular band, swapping folk for rock and acoustic blues. At times the new album is a harrowing listen. Because the Mumford & Sons singer suffered sexual abuse as a six year-old child and he has only recently begun untangling decades of denial to finally deal with that childhood trauma. On ‘(self-titled’) Marcus has opted to sing about his grim experiences. The album may sometimes make uncomfortable listening, but it certainly shows courage - as well as great musical competence. Some of the lyric are fierce and direct. “I can still taste you and I hate it”, he sings on ‘Cannibal’ - and on ‘Grace’ he relates how hard it was to tell his mother about the abuse. More positively, on ‘Better Angels’ he acknowledges the loyal support of friends and on the final track, ‘How’, Marcus wonders if forgiving his abuser would help. Marcus Mumford is far from the first artist to sing about past trauma and the healing process - but his powerful, highly personal songs ring truer than many.

Track Listing:-

1 Cannibal
2 Grace
3 Prior Warning
4 Better Off High
5 Only Child
6 Dangerous Game
7 Better Angels
8 Go In Light
9 Stonecatcher
10 How
11 Better Off High (on my phone)
12 Grace (on my phone)

Band Links:-

https://www.marcusmumford.com/
https://twitter.com/marcusmumford

Label Links:-

http://www.islandrecords.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/islandrecordsuk/
https://www.youtube.com/user/islandrec
https://www.facebook.com/IslandRecords
https://instagram.com/islandrecordsuk/

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