Mumford And Sons have announced a new and entirely banjo-free album. Wilder Mind is due May 4 and marks a bit of a departure for the British group, which has always been (somewhat fairly) mocked for drawing a little too much from rootsy Appalachian culture. Recorded in London and written in New York, London, and Texas, Wilder Mind doesn’t feature a single acoustic instrument, including the band’s much-loved single kick-drum. In a press release, frontman Marcus Mumford said the move is a “development, not a departure,” and that the group’s “songwriting hasn’t changed drastically,” something that’s either a good or a bad thing depending on how you feel about the group.
The band also announced its Gentlemen Of The Road Stopover festival dates today, which will bring acts like Dawes, The Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters, and Mumford And Sons to towns like Waverly, Iowa and Walla Walla, Washington this summer. The two-day mini fest is also making a stop in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, a town previously best known for hosting the Jersey Shore house.