Marcus Mumford Calls Kanye West 'The Only Rock Star Left'

Mumford and Sons are putting things in place for the release of their third album, Wilder Mind, due out May 4. This time around, the U.K.-based band is bringing big changes to its trademark sound.

Marcus Mumford recently told Billboard, "We'd been itching for a long time to do something different, and we picked the right time to do that. Well, maybe it was a bit late. Because we'd been a band almost as long as the Beatles, and this is only our third record, you know?"

The second single form the album, "The Wolf," is a straight ahead, driving rocker with nary a banjo or acoustic guitar in earshot. The band's planned hiatus ended up being a brief one, but the time off was energizing in unforeseen ways. "We started getting creative, and when we have that, we instinctively turn toward each other," bassist Ted Dwane explains. "We missed each other. It created a space for our creativity."

Their new approach is already leaving some fans confused. "Everyone needs to try something new, but I prefer the 'old' Mumford & sons sound!" and "This really sucks!!! sounds like a Disney band," read a couple posts on the band's Facebook page. Others, however, state their love for the new sound, with one calm soul trying to reassure the faithful, "ITS ONE ALBUM PEOPLE! THE BANJO WILL BE BACK!"

In the meantime, they have won over a new fan in Flaming Lips leader Wayne Coyne. "It's much better to do the thing you love and give it everything you've got," he says. "I see them doing that with their music and their shows. That, to me, is punk rock."

Mumford is just trying to focus on the road ahead, though he seems to worry about the legacy of the music of his generation: "There's a lot of rock out there. But it's no longer -- I don't think it's what our generation will be remembered for. I think it'll be Kanye West and Rihanna. It just makes me a bit sad."

However, he does go on the give thumbs up to West. "I think Kanye is sick. He's the only rock star left. He gets up and just blows them all away. Says one word and the whole room just ... that's rock and roll, to me. He's everything he claims to be. Maybe not God, but ... he really is incredible."