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Special Report
The Father, Mumford & Sons, and the Holy Spirit
The controversial Christianity of a hot-selling band has rock critics running amok.
Babel, Mumford & Sons’ foot-stomping, banjo-infused second album better suited for the local EnormoDome than a front porch in Appalachia, outsold all but two other albums on iTunes in 2012. It’s up for four Grammy awards.
The cool kids aren’t happy.
“The religious overtones on Mumford & Sons’ sophomore album come as no surprise,” the Los Angeles Times blurts out in the first line of its critique. The paper notes that “frontman Marcus Mumford first circulated in the scene around the Vineyard, an international network of evangelical Christian churches (Mumford’s parents are leaders of the community in the U.K.). So when he notes that ‘this cup of yours tastes holy,’ as he does here in ‘Whispers in the Dark,’ you figure the guy knows what holiness tastes like.”
An NPR piece on the backlash against the band notes that the group’s singer was “raised in a devout Christian household” and that the “rise of the megachurch… has a lot to do with the newest wave of folk-rock taking hold.” The writer references a “rock ‘n’ roll code” that celebrates outsiders and subversives. Mr. Mumford, a Christian in the pop world of Lady Gaga, Ke$ha and Eminem, rebels against that code. This makes him a conformist. Do you follow?
The opening line of Spin’s review of Mumford & Sons’ Babel tells us that the album Marcus Mumford gravitated to as a child was Bob Dylan’s Slow Train Coming, “You know, Bob Dylan’s first Christian one.” The review, ostensibly about a record release, notes that Mr. Mumford’s parents “are big on the God thing.” When the piece gets around to the album, Spin informs: “that Holy Spirit and Satan stuff winds all through the band’s music.” If you missed the writer’s condescension toward God and everything religion related (and few did), he adds: “Pope rock will never die!”
Critics, more so than the bands they critique, lack originality. The herd mentality they lament in music they embrace in criticism. The Marcus Mumford meme demonstrates this. Few bands play like Mumford & Sons. Few critics say anything different about Mumford & Sons.
Sonically, the mere fact that Mumford & Sons features organic instrumentation sets them apart from other popular music. You hear drum machines, Auto-Tune, and synthesizers on the radio. But banjos, accordions, and the dobro?
Lyrically, Mumford, even if sparingly and obliquely, addresses matters of faith. Rihanna can sing that “Sticks and stones may break my bones/But chains and whips excite me” in “S&M.” Madonna can make a play on the club drug ecstasy in titling her latest album MDNA. Snoop Dog can rap about killing undercover cops. Just don’t dare talk about Our Father.
In a world without taboos the only taboo is God. A higher power reminds of limitations, authority, and that something greater than number one exists. The rock star imagines himself as a human deity, and his many worshippers treat him accordingly. God’s a real buzz kill in that anthropocentric universe.
That writers find a person of faith in the pop world remarkable is itself remarkable. In Britain, where a recent poll found more believers in UFOs than God, the band’s vaguely Christian outlook might be seen as slightly unusual. But in America, where Gallup continues to find that more than nine in ten Americans believe in God, the perplexed response to Mumford & Sons says more about the alienation of critics than it does about the band. The normal astounds the abnormal.
Critics really don’t like that people like a record made by people who like God.
Marcus Mumford knows this better than most. “No, it’s not a statement of faith,” he defensively told the British homeless paper Big Issue regarding the new album. “We don’t feel evangelical about anything. Really. Other than music.” The singer added the obligatory line about being more spiritual than religious.
It’s unclear what message Mr. Mumford sends with his music. It’s perfectly clear what message he receives because of his music. God is a heresy among the godless. Acknowledge your faith at the risk of excommunication by the pop-music popes.
We don’t learn from the reviews of Babel whether or not Mumford & Sons are closeted Jesus freaks. We do learn that reviewers freak out about Jesus.
About the Author
Daniel J. Flynn is the author of Blue Collar Intellectuals: When the Enlightened and the Everyman Elevated America. He blogs at www.flynnfiles.com.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (26) | Leave a comment
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Appleby| 12.28.12 @ 6:59AM
My sister goes to the Vineyard Church in Syracuse NY; their motto is "come as you are and be loved" and they spend a good deal of their time in charitable work which their membership does voluntarily. Groups from that church go down to NYC and help out the Hurricane Sandy victims clean up and clean out and repair and get their lives back. My sister used to belong to the Episcopal church, but like the rest of us she left when it became All Homosexuals All The Time; and she was joined by a lot of people who take personally and seriously Jesus' injunction to Feed My Sheep. They are the laborers in the Vineyard and their numbers are growing. If you're looking for a place to praise the Lord and work for Him too, check out the Vineyard -- food, music and plenty of work for willing hands await you.
Anton C.| 12.28.12 @ 10:56AM
"Mr. Mumford, a Christian in the pop world . . ."
Yeah, I'm sure there is a lot of depth to his Christianity, and for what he and his band lack in talent they make up for in volume.
Contemporary "Christian" music is trash. The lyrics are ignorantly and clumsily crafted, and the melodic line, if there is one, is sappy and predictable. Tacky is the word that comes to mind.
Many of the Victorian hymns were art, but art is one thing the contemporary "Christian" musicians do not strive for. Their aim is to be cool in their rock 'n' roll posturings--head bands, vests, etc. Pathetic.
C. Vernon Crisler | 12.28.12 @ 8:42AM
All a so-called "Christian" rock band needs to do to get respect from music critics is to start attacking Republicans in its music.
PJ| 12.28.12 @ 9:19AM
I'm always in the market for some new sound. Did a little preview on Amazon.com. If you're into Gallic-sounding music with words that don't insult, then this is a possibility.
c. j. acworth| 12.28.12 @ 9:30AM
Well, fine, I guess, there's room for some new stuff. Me, I was a fan of Larry Norman when I was That Age. Funny how now I just want to hear the organ and sing the Old Standards. The stuff our "Praise Team" puts out just ain't makin it for me.
Quartermaster| 12.28.12 @ 11:03AM
Much of Praise and Worship music is scripture. Literally. Do you have a problem with singing scripture? Also, much of praise and worship music are the old standards.
Check what Hosanna! Integrity music has done in the past. Many of the full albums are on you Tube. If you have trouble with their stuff, then you need to have a serious talk with yourself.
c. j. acworth| 12.28.12 @ 11:35AM
I have no problem with singing scripture at all, Q. But the MUSIC sounds too much like much of the junk that comes out of the radio for my TASTES. As I said, there's room for new stuff, but this is largely a TASTE issue for me. So you listen to what you prefer, I'll stick to what I prefer. You aren't trying to imply that I am somehow sinful for PREFERRING the Old Standards are you? How dare you judge me for my TASTES.
dominic1955| 12.29.12 @ 1:37AM
I prefer chant and polyphony myself. Lifts the soul up to God. Pop music with Scriptural themes might be nice, but it isn't what I want in church.
That was the excuse of our Jansenists, that liturgical pieces needed to be Scriptural. What is wrong with Scripture? Well, nothing is, except when you try to make it say what it isn't saying or woodenly replace all devotional pieces with "scripture" to prove some pedantic point.
dominic1955| 12.28.12 @ 10:12AM
Of course the "mainstream" music critics would freak out about anything vaguely Christian sounding. Anything reminding them of morality makes them fear that Jesus freaks might start rounding them up or something on account of their drugs, fornication, sodomy or whatever else is popular now. Nothing trumps silencing the horror in the back of their head holding court...
Job| 12.28.12 @ 3:19PM
Nothing trumps silencing the horror in the back of their head holding court...Dom that is a beutiful sentence.
dominic1955| 12.29.12 @ 1:34AM
Thanks. I'm sure if you've ever dealt with a dyed-in-the-wood liberal this rings wholly true.
In some old cathedrals, they had mosaics of Christ Pantokrator in the apse above the altar. Looking at it in the vestibule (which represented being outside of the Church) He had a stern look on His face. Once you came into the nave and choir, He had a much kinder gaze. The mosaic didn't change-you did.
Same thing with that "horror"-it would be sweetness if only they would listen to it.
Denver Todd| 12.28.12 @ 12:02PM
Vineyard, an international network of evangelical Christian churches...we used to call that a denomination.
kjc| 1.5.13 @ 11:42PM
Yea their kinda of like a denomination-just more freedom to be lead by the Spirit!
Occam's Tool| 12.28.12 @ 12:18PM
Of course they do. Atheists are the second most intolerant persons in the Universe, second only to devout Islamists.
Job| 12.28.12 @ 3:21PM
need like buttons on this site...
Bigdawg1013| 12.28.12 @ 6:41PM
...and this is a surprise? Earlier this year there was much consternation over TobyMac being at the top of Itunes' charts. And Stryper spent 85-90 either melting down MTV request lines(coz MTV didnt want to play em) and selling millions of albums with virtually no radio airplay at all and constant sneery reiews asking why they couldnt tone down the Jesus stuff.
topcat52| 12.28.12 @ 8:22PM
Religious rock is nothing new. The soundtracks of Jesus Christ, Superstar, Godspell and the rock classic by Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky" were all hits. There is no surprise here. What is a surprise is that other than the fact that they actually play music, something that all bands did 30 years ago, you haven't actually said anything about the quality of the music. How do I know whether I want to give it a listen or not?
Bigdawg1013| 12.29.12 @ 9:25PM
Some is good, some....cringe-worthy. Aside from Neal Morse and Stryper, Im a little more selective and most Christian music i do biuy comes from indie artists
Jardino| 12.29.12 @ 9:03AM
Mumford & Sons is an English group that has performed for Obama in the White House. I don't believe that rock critics are running "amok" because some of their lyrics are religious. Most of thier music is not religious. This group is not very controversial.
Arnie| 12.31.12 @ 11:52AM
This article is ridiculous. There are tons of athiests who like Mumford & Sons because simply they make good music. I would file this article under the "Us po-po Christians are being victimized again" narrative that is unique to the American-Christian right. Much like the absurd "War on Christmas" it appeals to Christians that somehow feel they are under attack and being suppressed.
It's a really bizarre outlook when you consider there are over 2 billion Christians in the world. Christmas and Christianity is celebrated in every corner of the world. And for hundreds of years in North Am., South Am., Africa, Europe, and South East Asia, quite often it was actually Christians suppressing local populations. Most of the Christian world only started being tolerant of other people post World War 2.
In conclusion, Mumford & Sons are a great band, and this article sucks.
THKrupp| 12.31.12 @ 1:30PM
Its news to me that this group is "Christian" or that there was any sort of controversy. They are really good. Its kind of a combination of Celtic, folk and rock music.
The Marxist| 1.4.13 @ 6:13PM
Uhhh, Dan:
Babel arrived more than three months ago. I'm glad you are catching up. Babel is, in my opinion, the same album as Mumford & Sons' previous, Sigh No More. I bought Sigh when it was new and listened thrice straight, and many times since. Sigh is religious, and I laid their faith at the doorstep of Christianity. I am not a Christian as most of Spectator's readers would define, but I felt Sigh's viewpoint was inspirational and thought-provoking. The Christian faith Mumford shows in Sigh is neither oblique nor subtle, nor is the band "closeted" (have you listened)? I have not and will not buy Babel because I consider it to be really no different from Sigh. I behave thus with all musicians' work. I love Bluegrass and Rock n Roll, and I am in love with Mumford's instrumentals.
So you are peeved and see music critics as anti-Christian conspirators hiding under every bed. Let's see. You read the L.A. Times' review. It began with a reference to faith. That's fair. In the world of today's commercial music, overt religion is worth noting. You attack Spin's review. Spin is goofy. I question your objectivity is the excerpts you quote from NPR, and I bet a full reading of the NPR transcript would prove your lack of objectivity.
The rest of your column is risible. But maybe you stirred up some Spectator readers about the godless liberal left-stream media.
kritz| 1.4.13 @ 9:48PM
I'm a commited atheist, even anti-religious, and yet I agree that a passing mention of Mr. Mumford's spiritual beliefs is all that's called for.
If even that much.
Yes, a newly emerged pop group that happens to be Christian is slightly newsworthy, but only slightly. Much more important is the music.
Which is really darn good, and also feeds a huge amount of energy into my personal favorite among genres, contemporary folk.
Most of the practitioners of which are reliably agnostic or atheist, and which has a comforting preponderance of leftists, LGBT activists, nonconformers, and the usual performing arts kinks.
So, to the critics of Mumford & Sons: shut up and listen.
coachc| 1.31.13 @ 2:45PM
There are plenty of reviews that pan M&S with no reference to their religiosity. Go to Metacritic or other sites that aggregate reviews. So the persecuted Christian argument does not wash. They are quite simply not a good band.
And Rock and Roll is littered with Christian themes and imagery btw. After all, Jesus was an outsider and subversive par excellence. His life had the arc of a rock start.
Pierre Montagne| 1.5.13 @ 3:12PM
The owners of the music industry are the ones who decide what gets published.
Obliging journailst prostitute themselves on behalf of the media they serve.
Prositutes get paid in an industry where eveyone likes to look.
No printed word ergo no salary for the journalist who doesnt "put out".
This type is really what G_d was referencing when he says he hates "Men Pleasers"