No band of any significance likes to stay in one place very long—it took the Beatles five years to get from “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to “I Am the Walrus.” For Mumford & Sons, the pre-release buzz that their third full-length album, Wilder Mind, would mark a seismic shift in sound was, predictably, greeted with anticipation by those eager to chart the band’s growth and skepticism from the rest. M&S is, after all, a band that sparked a massive resurgence of acoustic instrumentation in rock and here they were promising banks of synthesizers on their new release—and no banjos. Wilder Mind, undeniably, introduces a new Mumford & Sons, one with its eye trained on arena performances. The booming drums, layered electronics and Edge-like guitars take some major getting used to, for sure. But move past the often gargantuan production and focus on the songwriting and you’ll quickly realize the old Mumford hasn’t entirely departed. Anthemic, danceable rockers like the opening “Tompkins Square Park” and the title track retain the spirit of the front-porch hoots of the earlier recordings, and the more spartan balladry of “Cold Arms” and “Believe,” although lacking much of the warmth of previous M&S, are endearing on their own terms. Whether Wilder Mind will prove to be an anomaly or the beginning of a permanent transformation, it’s likely to be a game-changer for this beloved band.