Mumford & Sons’ ‘seeping cities’

Mumford & Sons try to avoid allowing Los Angeles' "seeping" energy to pour into them.

The British rock band, comprised of lead singer Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane, are based in London.

And although the sunshine in Hollywood may be envied by others living in colder climates, Mumford & Sons don't like to stay in Los Angeles for extended periods of time.

"Whenever you hang out in a city, it starts seeping into you a bit," frontman Marcus laughed to Billboard magazine. "That's why I don't like hanging out in L.A. for too long."

Mumford & Sons are currently promoting their new album Wilder Mind, which is due for release on May 4.

The record sounds nothing like their previous LPs, Sigh No More and Babel, according to Mumford.

"We'd been itching for a long time to do something different, and we picked the right time to do that," he noted. "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?"

Back in September 2013, Mumford & Sons decided to slow down for a while, as they had been touring internationally for five years straight.

Keyboardist Ben is happy they ceased performing for a bit, as he believes they desperately needed a break from concerts.

"People forget that if you're going to write songs about living, you've got to live," Ben said. "You get to travel and meet people [on tour], but you can't really write songs about that."

The first single, which is entitled Believe, from their third studio album Wilder Mind was released on March 9.