Dharohar Project, Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons (EP)

On their debut, Sigh No More, English quartet Mumford and Sons cooked up rousing, romantic folk rock perfect for sloshed barroom singalongs, earning two Grammy nominations in the process. For this EP, they took a page from the George Harrison playbook, recording in Delhi, India, with fellow touring partner Laura Marling and a nine-member collective of Rajasthani musicians called the Dharohar Project. The result sounds like a pub band crashing an Indian wedding: “Devil’s Spoke,” which Marling originally cut as a quiet, unassuming acoustic tune, is turned into a lively foot-stomper, thanks to Winston Marshall’s banjo and Dharohar Project’s wailing vocals and clacking, polyrhythmic percussion. Mumford and Sons’ “To Darkness,” a sleepy B side, is reborn as a celebratory yawp, with new lyrics and a slow-burning backbeat that eventually explodes into joyful cacophony. The next logical step in Mumford and Sons’ career? Sitar lessons.

Video: Mumford & Sons Play Exclusive Acoustic Set Live at Rolling Stone