Mumford and Sons Bring New Song ‘Guiding Light’ to London Streets

When Rolling Stone visited Mumford & Sons in the studio last month, the band talked about the excitement they felt returning to acoustic instruments while recording their fourth album Delta. On 2015’s Wilder Mind, they largely abandoned them in favor of synthesizers and electric guitars.  “There weren’t many boundaries musically,” said banjo-guitarist Winston Marshall. “We felt more free.”

You can see that excitement in their new video for “Guiding Light,” their new single which sounds like their best early acoustic anthems, with a new electronic drum twist. The day after the single came out, the band played for a crowd outside  the Tate Modern museum in London, filming the video (and playing hits like “Little Lion Man” and “I Will Wait.”)

Delta was produced by Paul Epworth (Adele, U2 and Frank Ocean.) The band recorded at least 25 songs; the goal was to find more of a balance between folk music and more ambitious sounds.  They invited guests (including Yebba, Maggie Rogers and Gill Landry) for what Mumford called “late night jams where we’ve fallen down an electronic rabbit hole.” “[We’d] smoke cigarettes and have a great time,” he said.

“After this record,” predicts Mumford, “we could go and make an electronica record and people wouldn’t be that shocked.”

The album comes out November 16th, the same day the band launches their biggest tour yet in Dublin. It hits the U.S. in Philadelphia December 7th, and will run through next spring.