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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Delta is their best album yet, spiritual solace wrapped in secular anthems.
85
There’s something to be said for invoking majesty in music and offering the impression that it’s worth leaning to extract some larger meaning. Whether there are lessons to be found is strictly a matter of interpretation. Any album this epic in scope is, at very least, worthy of their reputation.
70
People will relate to the universal doubts and fears that are often stirringly evoked by the music and lyrics on Delta. Mumford & Sons know their strengths and they play to them well here, proving that too much catharsis is better than not enough.
67
Though “experimental” may be a bit of an overstatement, the best parts of Delta prove that, in the hands of the right producer, Mumford & Sons remain capable of recording radio-ready earworms that challenge expectations (a little, at least) while still retaining the major qualities that made them superstars in the first place.
60
Where Wilder Mind purported to be ambitious, this record genuinely is. The soundscapes are cinematic – and intense.
60
Lyrically, the record deals with the onset of maturity and this, combined with that forward-thinking approach, suggests Mumford & Sons are here for the long haul. It’s a far from perfect album, but the band’s hunger for new sounds must be applauded.
58
Having shed the beardy affect and folksy shuffle, the band could now slip mostly unnoticed between Imagine Dragons and twenty one pilots, but their newly palatable sound could really use more quirks.
50
There is a pulse, but it's soft and turned electronic. There is emotion, but it's been intentionally encased in a digital cocoon, one that flattens the group's bold accents (such as an embrace of vocoders) and turns Delta into soft, shimmering background music, ideal for any soothing setting you'd like.
40
What a shame. Mumfords were once adept at uniting disparate influences. Their mesh of big-tent club tempos and banjo hoedowns was horrible but ingenious – it’s a knack they’ve lost.
40
At this point Mumford & Sons know exactly what they have to do to keep the Spotify streams rolling over, and ‘Delta’ feels like an exercise in box-ticking, no more, no less.
40
The problem with Delta is that it feels overwhelmed by its ambitions. The Mumfords constantly fall into the trap of confusing seriousness with grimness, revealing the goth soul lurking beneath their folkie exterior.
I think the problem that I had with Imagine Dragons is here, but somehow it's less annoying. The melody, musicianship and production, while unmemorable and generic, are nice when you are listening to them. It's enough to gently guide you to a nice space of mind, but nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes, it seems like the song is going to finally get to an interesting idea (Such as The Wild or 42), but usually sticks to it's acoustic 'neo-folk' styling. And it's not like the band can't make ... read more
Delta creates drawn out, pretty soundscapes, floating in limbo between Wilder Mind and Sigh No More stylistically. As a fan, I still find enjoyment through many aspects of this album but there are no real standouts in the track list.
Best Tracks: The Wild, Delta
5.8/10. Disappointingly average in places.
Best Tracks: The Wild, Delta
5.8/10. Disappointingly average in places.
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Year End Lists
| / | Radio X |
Track List
- 42
- Guiding Light
- Woman
- Beloved
- The Wild
- October Skies
- Slip Away
- Rose of Sharon
- Picture You
- Darkness Visible
- If I Say
- Wild Heart
- Forever
- Delta
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Added on: September 21, 2018