Mumford and Sons Parking

For a band who had gigged pretty much nonstop since forming, Mumford & Sons' five-month hiatus – which began when they completed their world tour for the Babel album in September 2013 – was their first proper break in almost five years. Yet their decision to step off the merry-go-round was born as much of confidence as it was exhaustion, or a desire to catch up with themselves. In the months leading up to the end of the tour, Marcus, Ben, Winston and Ted had spent time with The National's Aaron Dessner, recording demos in his New York garage, pottering around guitar shops, experimenting with his vintage amps. The band reconvened in February last year at Eastcote Studios in London, where they had recorded their debut album, Sigh No More. So began an eight-month period of writing. Joining them at these sessions was the producer James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Florence + The Machine, Klaxons). "He'd listened to a few of the new songs," says Marcus, "and just said, 'Yeah, I like them.' No more than that. He's so understated, but it was good for us. So we started playing, he sat behind the kit, and off we went. It felt like having an older brother in the studio. And he made it fun. It should be fun." Right from the opening bars of Tompkins Square Park, it's apparent that those early sessions in New York and London witnessed a change in the band's approach not just to writing and recording, but to texture and dynamics, too. There is a minimalist yet panoramic feel to the new album, whose sound Marcus describes as "a development, not a departure." Which came about how – by accident, or as a result of a conscious decision? "It was a bit of both. Towards the end of the Babel tour, we'd always play new songs during soundchecks, and none of them featured the banjo, or a kick-drum. And demoing that song with Aaron meant that, when we took a break, we knew it wasn't going to involve acoustic instruments. We didn't say: 'No acoustic instruments.' But I think all of us had this desire