Marcus Mumford

The Mumford & Sons singer on mixed reviews, hanging with Noel Gallagher, and yawning at the royal wedding

- Patrick Doyle

Marcus Mumford doesn’t get nervous a lot. But he admits he’s a little apprehensive the day before Mumford & Sons release their fourth album, Delta, and launch a 63-date arena tour. The band spent months working on the LP, looking for a balance between the folk singalongs of its first two albums and 2015’s plugged-in Wilder Mind. A new single, “Guiding Light,” combines acoustic strumming with a dance beat; elsewhere, the group pulled from its love of electronic music and hip-hop. “Our hope is that people enjoy it with us, but we know not always everyone will,” Mumford says, calling from Dublin after a rehearsal. “If you try to pander to some audience, you can lead yourself awry. I hope it pushes the boundaries of what people choose to define us as.” A few days after our conversation, Delta will go to Number One.

Few bands are as divisive as Mumford & Sons. You’re either loved or hated. Have you ever thought about why that is?

We became successful quite quickly, and that certainly puts me off bands sometimes. I’m sure a lot of people think our music is really shit. I believe in taste — I don’t want to just out-and-out disagree with them. But writing a band off just because of their reputation disappoints me. I still feel like we’re pretty privileged to be in the position we’re in.

Were you surprised when Wilder Mind, where you ditched the banjos, got mixed reviews?