Mumford & Sons, alongside acts like Noah and the Whale and Laura Marling, are a part of Britain's burgeoning folk scene — a small niche by most standards but Mumford & Sons have nevertheless become one of the year's breakthrough bands — their appeal greatest among the type of listener that gets their new music tips from Grey's Anatomy and whoever it is Dave Matthews ropes in as an opening act.

Fortunately, Mumford's tunes are anything but lachrymose. Frontman Marcus Mumford possesses a huge, tobacco-stained set of pipes that could wipe out a small country, and his band of old-time-y aces manage to deliver pub-ready stompers — even without the aid of a drummer. (Mumford keeps the beat on a bass drum during their raucous live shows.) Tracks like breakout single "The Cave" morph from tender acoustic pop to volcanic anthem and "Little Lion Man" could be appropriated for any number of sloshy, beer-soaked fraternity sing-alongs. Still, a certain British pomp invades tracks like "Timshel" and the brass-heavy "Winter Winds," although there's no denying the haunting, visceral fear aroused in "White Blank Page," which comes on like a sea chanty sung by sailers on their way to a watery grave.