Album review: Marcus Mumford goes to the dark side on solo album, Self-Titled 

With Mumford & Sons on a break, their main man delves into issues of abuse and forgiveness on his first record without the band

Marcus Mumford releases his Self-Titled album. 

★★★★☆

As the face and voice of Mumford & Sons, Marcus Mumford is one of pop’s leading proponents for wide-screen folk-rock. His persona is of a sort of Bono in a waistcoat, whose natural habitat is around the campfire and in the vicinity of a stand-up bass.

He’s made loads of fans along the way to the top of the charts. And nearly as many enemies, who came out in blisters at the thought of privately-educated chaps (the band are all from well-to-do areas of London) selling millions of records. And so, when his (now former) bandmate Winston Marshall expressed admiration for various right-wing commentators from North America, the haters pounced and it all threatened to come tumbling down.

Mumford and Sons have gone on hiatus in the wake of those controversies. And Mumford has moved on to something far darker and more distressing than the hey-nonny-nonny singalongs with which he forged his reputation. Because, if the textures of Self-Titled are warm, the subject with which it grapples is chilling.

Mumford was abused as a child and the album circles that trauma, addressing ideas of redemption, forgiveness and catharsis. As is only proper, it is unflinching — opening track, 'Cannibal', speaks directly to the abuser and is, frankly, hard to get through. It feels strange to suggest a glossy major-label folk record should come with a trigger warning. Perhaps this one should.

That Self-Titled negotiates upsetting territory is acknowledged by the singer. “I knew I had to sit you down/But sitting you down could not prepare you,” he intones on 'Prior Warning' — the lyrics directed to a loved one.

Mumford was raised in a Christian evangelical community and one of the LP’s themes is the importance of forgiveness — for the victim as much as for the sinner. And while it would be wrong to say say that Self-Titled ends with a flourish of optimism, closing number 'How' does feel like a grace note. “I forgive you now,” he sings. “Release you now from all the blame…” 

It’s a powerful statement and you can only hope it brings Mumford closer to closure. But Self-Titled is also a difficult listen: a project that needs to be approached respectfully and on its own terms.