Mumford & Sons leader Marcus Mumford released his debut solo album Self-Titled today, which features a new collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers called “Stonecatcher.” As the song’s first verse builds, Bridgers appears as backing vocals on the chorus — so subtly that might have gone unnoticed, if she wasn’t marked as a feature. Still, her voice serves as a stunning compliment to Mumford’s folk track. “Oh, my God, we’re here again / It all slows down to lines in the sand,” Bridgers sings alongside him.
“We’ve had lots of conversations which have been really helpful to me over the years,” Mumford recently told NME about how their collaboration came to be. “I asked her whether she’d be down to come and hear something and whether she wanted to sing on it. I played her where ‘Stonecatcher’ was at and she goes, ‘Dude, did you get the word ‘heinous‘ into a song?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ She was like, ‘I’ll sing on it!’”
During the interview, he also notes that he’s been friends with Bridgers “for a very long time,” which makes the duo seem like an obvious choice to work together.
In addition to Bridgers, Mumford enlisted a few other singers for his debut album. Clairo appears on the tense-feeling “Dangerous Game” and Brandi Carlile helps him close out the record as a longer presence on “How.”
Listen to “Stonecatcher” above.
Self-Titled is out now via Capitol. Get it here.