Mumford & Sons release their second studio album ‘Babel’ today – the hugely anticipated follow up to their Brit award winning debut ‘Sigh No More’.

Having sold over 4 million copies of their first album, as well as picking up a Mercury Prize nomination and six Grammy nominations, the band “wanted to do something unashamed,” says Ben Lovett. “We’re confident and happy to be where we are... everything that’s happened with us has exceeded expectations, and it’s all been a surprise, it’s all much bigger than what we were prepared for.”

The writing process for the new album began in Nashville, continued in London, and finished off on a farm in Somerset. Mumford & Sons’ extensive time touring has been a huge influence on ‘Babel’, as Ted Dwane explains, “there’s a lot of the live energy in there — that was very much what we were trying to capture.... it’s almost as if the road has rubbed off on the album.” However, as well as the furious energy of the title track and the rousing first single ‘I Will Wait’, there are quieter moments too, such as on the album closer ‘Not With Haste’.

“I think there’s more subject-matter on this album, and I think we’ve grown up a little bit,” says Marcus Mumford. “Ted always talked about wanting to make an album like a story. Not necessarily one that has a plot, but one that you can listen to from top to bottom and it makes sense. I think that’s what we’ve tried to do, and what we’ve done.”