If you’ve listened to England, a slow-burning favorite from last year’s High Violet, and thought, “What this song really needs is some furious acoustic strumming that will really make the panties drop,” well, then, you’re in luck.
Mumford & Sons – whose foot-stomping folk has won over the record-buying public, specifically females (I saw first-hand at the Railroad Revival Tour and was inspired to cash in on some merch) – tackled this cover of the National track for VH1’s Unplugged (which airs next week), though they admit they’re not sure what to make of it:
Says the vested Marcus Mumford, the group’s singer and unlikely heartthrob: “Still trying to figure out whether or not it’s offensive towards English people, but yeah, we’re making it non-offensive.”
I love England, as I’ve expressed a couple times before, so I’m wary of anyone attempting to cover it. But I will say this: For better or worse, Mumford & Sons certainly stay true to their style with this version. The tempo is kicked up a tick and you can feel halfway through that the strum-gasm isn’t too far behind.
At the very least, the National – and a tremendous song – will benefit from the exposure.
(Via Each Note Secure, via Stereogum.)
Since when did the National needs Mumford & Sons to help their exposure?
I guess what I meant to say is that the National would be exposed to a different audience. The National is one of my favorite bands, but you can’t discount fact that Mumford has sold more than 1 million albums.