The arc of the Lumineers will always have a shadow. Were they noticed because of their excellence or partly because record companies were trying to find another Mumford and Sons? The truth might lie somewhere in between. The band has consistently been good, but maybe more well-known because of their Mumford brethren.
To be fair, even Mumford had no business being as popular as they were. Their folk-rock brand was necessarily new, but it also had not been on display recently. The Dropkick Murphys had some of the same elements, but they also were definitely a punk band. The folk was not as present. Few bands twined rock and folk as well as Mumford and Sons and the Lumineers.
But they also seemed somewhat like a gimmick through no fault of their own. They both produced fantastic music, but we are also pre-sold bands in whatever streaming service we use or even on the radio If another genre (or sub-genre) has become the new hot thing, the old one fades away. This means groups like the Lumineers fade away a bit, too. But they shouldn't.
Lumineers produce another stark beauty with Automatic
A band starts off, most of the time, with one goal: To make the music they like and hope the general public also likes it. The Lumineers still make what they like, but the public eye might have moved on. They shouldn't have, and the band's new album, Automatic, is an example of that.
We all know the old adage that good artists borrow and great artists steal. This is never meant to be a disrespectful phrase, but rather that a great artist gets an idea from another great artist and somehow creates a fantastic work of their own. The Lumineers seemingly know this well.
The second track on Automatic is called "A**hole," and one might think, except for the vocals, that upon hearing the tune, one could believe it was a Ben Folds original. The piano is just right, and the sympathies are spot on. No one can curse and create a great song like Folds. The Lumineers come close.
Still, the group's tender touch is nearly ever-present, and therefore, some beautiful music is created. Might you get all the feels? For sure. The album is a lowly-paced beauty that will remind you of Mumford, Folds, and even Coldplay at their best ("Automatic"). The whole thing is worth a listen.