Mumford & Sons review, ‘Prizefighter’ - Choosing vulnerability over cynicism

British folk trio revive the communal spirit of their early years by inviting artists such as Hozier, Chris Stapleton and Gigi Perez to collaborate

Mumford & Sons turn their album singalongs into a stadium-sized lock-in (Press)

“Hey! Did you call? Did you fall? Do you need someone?” an impassioned Marcus Mumford asks on his band’s irresistible new single “Banjo Song”. Earthy and earnest as ever, his urgent questions come bolstered by the raw strum of the instrument for which the band were once both celebrated and mocked in equal measure. After a couple of rockier albums (2015’s Delta and 2018’s Wilder Mind), the band returned to a rootsier sound on 2025’s Rushmere. Now, just nine months later, their sixth album, Prizefighter, sees them doubling down on their original USP with glorious gusto. What’s more, they’ve brought a whole crew of A-list guest stars along for the ride, with the likes of Gracie Abrams, Hozier, Chris Stapleton and Gigi Perez swelling the singalong to a stadium-sized lock-in.

It’s surprising that Mumford & Sons haven’t included more featured artists on their records; the nu-folk movement of the 2010s seemed almost as communal-cliquey as California’s Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter circle of the Sixties and Seventies. Mumford & Sons could be found playing gigs at the tiny (now defunct) Bosun’s Locker beneath a pasty shop in Fulham, along with acts such as Noah and the Whale, Laura Marling, Emmy the Great, Johnny Flynn, and King Charles. It was a lax venue where many of the underage musicians could guarantee getting served alcohol, clinking warm pints between strumming battered guitars. But eventually that scene splintered as Mumford & Sons hit the international mainstream.

Last year, though, Mumford & Sons revived some of this collective spirit, bringing younger folk-pop stars Noah Kahan and Maggie Rogers along for a rerun of their original 2011 railroad tour of the US. It’s helped them pick up the momentum you feel on Prizefighter. Interviewed in The Times earlier this year, 39-year-old Mumford said the band had “found the fun again”, proven in the record’s bounty of hook-filled tunes.

Co-written and co-produced with welcoming, woody warmth by The National’s Aaron Dessner, the record opens with the steadying sentiment of “Here”. Mumford is joined by country star Chris Stapleton (if ever a voice could have a bushy beard, it’s his) as the pair own both their “trophies” and their “mistakes” together over a stomped beat, augmented with a liquid bluesy electric solo. Irish singer-songwriter Hozier hangs out on “Rubber Man”, about the reassurance of shared memories, while the clock-tick pulse of “Icarus” finds Mumford’s rough-grained vocal bolstered by the rich commitment of 26-year-old indie artist Gigi Perez. Gracie Abrams’s light graze of a croon skates elegantly over the sweet, piano-driven “Badlands”.

Guest-free highlights include the delicately plucked “Alleycat”, resonant “Stay” and “Conversations with My Son”, which skips along its gorgeous acoustic guitar solo while Mumford’s lyrics pledge enduring love and support. Though there have been times when critics have tired of Mumford & Son’s big, fraternal hug schtick, there’s no doubting their sincerity. And in these troubled times, it feels like a fool’s luxury to choose cynicism over their tuneful vulnerability and endorsement of united humanity. As Mumford reminds us on “Banjo Song”, you can be “a mess” yourself and still prove worth leaning on.