Meticulous, clear, lovers of light, the French hide somewhere a lust for exaggeration.
Mumford & Sons' new single, "Lover of the Light," may well be on the way to the Top 20 despite the presence of a banjo.
Mr. Mumford put down his guitar and played the drums as he sang the lead on "Lover of the Light," an exuberant love song from the unreleased "Babel," while Mr. Dwane traded his upright acoustic bass for an electric one.
They possess a couple of lovely, anthemic songs in I Will Wait and Lover of the Light, and beyond that they're both pleasant and moderately unremarkable in this setting.
"Nothing Is Written" boasts understated beauty, while darkly romantic "Lover of the Light" sees Marcus Mumford move from his usual position as frontman to the back of the stage to play drums.
Some hit the mark – from the drum-stool, Marcus leads a rousing chorus of Lover of the Light while the brooding Thistle & Weeds contains hints of Richard Hawley and the National.
And although he sometimes retreats to the full drum-kit, as on Babel's stand-out "Lover of the Light", it's the tracks like "Little Lion Man" where the rhythm is dictated by his thudding kicks that impress the most.
Many of these songs – like live favourite Lover of the Light, the banjo-powered lay hymn Whispers in the Dark or the more intriguingly tormented Lover's Eyes – have existed for over 18 months, beaten into studio shape by audience response.
Be sure sun lovers will have plenty of light and shade plants are kept cool.
Fabrice Lamego and Caroline Nehr were charmingly youthful, savage lovers, drawn together in a pool of light under swinging lamps.
