8 February 2013
Tom Breihan defends Mumford & Sons
[I]n their sound, I hear trace elements of [...] AC/DC. That band's secret weapon, as every reader of the great rock-critic contrarian Chuck Eddy already knows, was always drummer Phil Rudd. Rudd's secret: He never played fills. Instead, his ceaseless boom-boom-boom heartbeat-pulse helped grant that band's songs an irresistible forward momentum and lent them a secret connection to disco. Mumford, of course, have no drummer. So their secret weapon, it turns out, is frontman Marcus Mumford's right foot.
I think Breihan's comparison to AC/DC is quite apt. (Though when he criticizes Mumford's vague lyrics, I wonder what Indie rock he's been listening to for the last five years.) I only have so many hours in the day to listen to music, and I have little use for Mumford. But I think I understand the appeal. I've always wondered what my old college friend Ben Kaufman thinks of them.