Mumford and Sons spent the entire publicity run leading up to their third album, Wilder Mind, preparing anyone with two ears and a Spotify account for a drastic change. Banjos? Gone. Suspenders? Locked away in favor of leather jackets and skinny jeans — nostalgia for one era traded in for a revival of the Strokes-led new wave of new wave. Team captain Marcus Mumford even expressed regret about the band’s name, calling the moniker a “ball-ache.”

Just as Josh Tillman constructed a beguiling narrative around settling down with a good woman to introduce Father John Misty’s I Love You, Honeybear, the Mumford camp’s campaign centered on the quartet plugging in (much to the consternation of Scruggs-style-loving folkies). These Grammy winners aren’t doing anything U2 can’t toss off after a Guinness-soaked bender, but Wilder Mind showcases tremendous growth. Detractors who find 2009’s career-making Sigh No More and 2012’s Babel treacly…