Babel

With great anticipation many of us Mumford fans have been awaiting the release of their 2nd record and yesterday was the day!

I downloaded the album and immediately began listening.  I had a nice hill run scheduled and the new tracks went with hills like chocolate sauce on ice cream.  And just as sweet too!

I will admit, I was not a Mumford fan until I had a chance to listen to their first album, Sigh No More, on the run, in the woods, all alone.  Enjoying uninterrupted listening to the music and the lyrics, I was completely mesmerized by the beauty, the pain, the struggle, and the triumph that was written so perfectly into the compositions.  Since that day, I have been a huge fan, and I was really doubtful that the second round would prove to be any where near as good as the first. 

I am excited to report that not only does Babel meet my expectations, it exceeds them!  

From the opening track, the title cut, Babel, there is a definite carry over from the first album of the plight of the sinner, the struggle against one's self to become right in the eyes of the One whom the character is clawing his way back to.  I'll leave it to you to decide for yourself who exactly this is.  I listened to each track and could see it being a lover or Christ.  Since I am a sinner, constantly clawing her way back to Christ, I hear this album as a prayer.  Some of the prayers are pleading for acceptance, forgiveness, some are ramblings of how angry he is at himself for falling yet again.  Some are a complete submission to accept the consequences of his actions. 

Currently, after 4 or 5 listenings, I have a few favorite tracks. 
Babel, I Will Wait, Holland Road, Ghosts That We Knew, Lover's of the Light, Lover's Eyes, Hopeless Wanderer, Broken Crown, Below My Feet.   That's 9 out of 12 that I have listened to over and over again, drinking in each lyric and piecing together the painting the verbage paints for me. 

One cautionary note about the song, Broken Crown.  There are a few "F" words thrown into the mix at what I think is the very best part of the song.  And while I don't subscribe to the use of the word as a rule, I do think that the way that the word is used in this song is totally appropriate and understandable.  Unfortunately it is a song that won't be played outside of my headphones for the sake of my children.  

I definitely have a new crop of tunes to carry me through Cactus Rose in a few weeks!