In 2018, the guys in Mumford and Sons released an album called Delta. It didn't sound like the banjo-fueled hoedown everyone expected. Honestly, it didn't really sound like the electric-heavy Wilder Mind either. It was something else. Something messier.
They called it a "fertile" period. Marcus Mumford even mentioned in interviews that the title itself, being the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, marked their fourth record. But more than that, a delta is where a river hits the sea. It's where everything washes up. For the band, that meant everything they'd lived through in their thirties: the births, the deaths, and the stuff in between.
Making Mumford and Sons Delta
Working with producer Paul Epworth was a massive shift. This is the guy who helped Adele find her roar on 21. He doesn't just record songs; he obsesses over rhythm. Apparently, the band recorded over 25 tracks at The Church Studios in London.
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They weren't just four guys in a room anymore.
Around 100 people cycled through those sessions. You had Maggie Rogers dropping by. You had "Friday night lads sessions" where friends would show up, smoke, drink, and just play. It was a democracy that needed a leader, and Epworth was that guy. He’d tell them when an idea was garbage or when they needed to pull an all-nighter to get a bridge right.
The Four Ds
Ben Lovett once summarized the album's themes as "The Four Ds."
- Death
- Divorce
- Drugs
- Depression
Heavy, right?
But you hear it in the music. Take "Beloved." It’s a song about sitting with an elderly relative as they pass away. It’s devastating. Then you have "Darkness Visible," which literally features a spoken-word reading from John Milton’s Paradise Lost. It’s not exactly the foot-stomping "Little Lion Man" vibe that made them famous back in the day.
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Why the critics were so split
When Mumford and Sons Delta hit the shelves, the reviews were... well, they were all over the place. Metacritic gave it a 59. That’s essentially a shrug in the music world. Some critics called it "skin-flayingly boring." Others, like The Telegraph, saw it as a "valiant" attempt to connect on a deeper level.
The fans didn't seem to care about the reviews. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. It sold 237,000 units in its first week. People wanted to hear what a "mature" Mumford sounded like, even if it meant trading the banjo for an Ableton-produced beat.
The Sound of a Band in Transition
Is it a folk record? No. Is it a rock record? Sorta.
"Guiding Light" feels like the bridge. It has that familiar build-up, that "Mumford-ian" explosion, but the texture is different. It’s shinier. Then you have "Woman," which is probably the closest they’ve ever come to an R&B track. It’s got this pitched-down, moody atmosphere that feels more like something you’d hear in a late-night lounge than a dusty festival field.
Winston Marshall was still in the band back then. He pushed hard for "Guiding Light" to be the lead single. He felt it was welcoming. Ironically, this was the last full studio cycle he’d spend with the group before his departure in 2021. In hindsight, the album feels like the end of an era. It’s the final document of the original four-piece trying to figure out how to be adults in the public eye.
Live on the Delta Tour
The tour for this album was insane. They did this "in-the-round" staging where the stage was right in the middle of the arena. It was supposed to be intimate, but it was a nightmare for lighting. They ended up using this automated system called "zactrack" just to keep the spotlights on Marcus when he’d go running into the crowd.
They played 98 shows. Asia, Oceania, North America—they were everywhere. Then COVID-19 hit and cut the whole thing short. They eventually released a live EP to commemorate it, but those who saw the show in person talk about "The Wild" as a highlight. It starts as a whisper and ends as a full-blown orchestral storm.
How to Listen to Delta Today
If you’re going to revisit the album, don’t do it on your phone speakers.
Seriously.
The production is dense. There are layers of 1940s bass drums and synthetic clacks that get lost on a tiny speaker. It’s an album that rewards a proper pair of headphones and a bit of patience.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
- Listen Chronologically: Start with "42" and let the album play through to the title track. It’s designed as a linear journey from doubt to a sort of hard-won hope.
- Check the Lyrics: This is their most autobiographical work. Look for the references to 1 Corinthians 13 in the title track or the echoes of Psalm 42 in the opener.
- Watch the Live Performances: Find the 2018-2019 live recordings of "Darkness Visible." The way they transition from the spoken word into the "rock odyssey" is much more impactful in a live setting.
- Compare to Wilder Mind: If you thought they "abandoned" their roots on the third album, listen to how they brought the banjo back on Delta, but used it as a percussive tool rather than a lead melody.
Ultimately, Mumford and Sons Delta is a record about the messiness of being thirty-something. It isn't perfect, and it isn't always "fun." But it's honest. In a world of over-sanitized pop, there's something to be said for a band that isn't afraid to scream into the shadows.