I think it's safe to say at this point that I'll like anything by Mumford & Sons that makes it onto the radio. I'd bet most people do - it's catchy stuff.

Makes you want to get up and dance or tap your foot or something like that.

I suppose a whole album can't be that good.

But I'd still recommend their latest.

Before we talk about 'Babel', the new Mumford & Sons album (well, it's been out for a while, but I just listened to it, hence "New Thing #14"), let's talk about 'Sigh No More', the last Mumford & Sons album. It's a pretty high bar they've set for themselves. That's a pretty good first 4-5 songs, and I absolutely love the first 4, followed by "Little Lion Man", which I think was their first hit, at Track #7.

'Babel' has almost more of an up-tempo feel throughout the album (the title track is, like the last album, the first song on the album. I wonder how often that happens. And, like the song 'Sigh No More', 'Babel' the song is pretty good.), and it also has a strong first 7 or so songs.

Among those first 7 is "I Will Wait", easily my favorite Mumford & Songs song. (I've heard it countless times and I still can't figure out all the words. I wonder if that's due to their style or me getting older?) I think "I Will Wait" sounds even better in the context of the album than by itself. There's an interesting thing about 'Babel' - many of the songs are linked. There's a hum (I'm sure there's a better musical term here, but I'll use 'hum'...or 'undertone'. Is that a thing?) that builds up at the end of one song and blends right into the next. It's not constant, but there's definitely a strong flow to the album. If you're just listening without looking at the switching of tracks you can't really tell when one song ends and another one begins. Sometimes I think that's a bad thing...but on this album it's great.

"Lover of the Light" is also a good one - that's the new single. At least, I'm pretty sure I heard it on the radio before I heard it here.

And an unexpected surprise - a cover (which the description says features Paul Simon, though I couldn't pick him out on the song) of Simon's "The Boxer" - one of three bonus tracks.

I like Mumford & Sons. I like this album. Take it for what it's worth.