Deixa-me rir...

Caros audiophiles, I thought it would be a good idea to begin this new year, this new decade, with a new group.

They are called Mumford & Sons and they come from my area of south-west London. Even so, musically their sound reflects a love of Irish-American country folk, with a little bit of bluegrass, and even a bit of Coldplay piano. Their vocal harmonies make me think of Fleet Foxes. their impassioned and joyfully exuberant playing reminds me very much of the Canadian group Arcade Fire who. I should not have been surprised to learn, share the same studio producer.

Mumford already have in their short history a fast growing band of admirers and I am certain that in 2010 these gentlemen of the road will become the darlings of summer festivals everywhere. Excitement in your limbs, romance in your heart, some fire in your belly. What more can you wish for? Maybe a beer in your hand.

It is a hard choice which song to introduce, a task made easier because there are not yet many good sound quality videos available to accompany them. And so, because the weather has been so awful here, and in Portugal too, I choose a song with an appropriate title, Winter Winds, which happens also to reference my home city.

But I urge you to check also other songs such as Little Lion Man (official video), The Cave, White Blank Page and Dustbowl Dance (from the Bookshop Sessions) and Gentlemen Of The Road which is a charming short self-introduction by the band.

Please tell me what you think!

May your lives soon swap snow and wind and rain for leaves of green.

A proxima,

po