I don’t know if this technically counts as a supergroup, but Hozier joined Mumford & Sons on “Rubber Band Man” earlier in 2025, a single produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner. An impressive collaboration that follows Mumford & Sons’ latest album, Rushmere, the group’s first in seven years.
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Though the British folk revivalists have previously performed with the Irish songwriter on stage, “Rubber Band Man” marks the first recording to feature both Mumford & Sons and Hozier.
About “Rubber Band Man”
“Rubber Band Man” is a song about recovery. Marcus Mumford sings the opening verse, beginning with a struggle to get reborn.
When you can’t win
For losing
And the beggars start choosing the chaos in your head.
Calls the cracks to start showing
All knowing, all glowing with the light of the…
Dying to raise the dead, oh.
For Hozier’s verse, he warns his audience against rigidity, offering some folk philosophy about contentment. You can be a preacher, but it’s also okay to just stand there and feed birds. Part of recovery, it seems, is letting go.
Steady yourself
And your tumbleweed words
Be a street corner preacher
Or just feed the birds.
But don’t hold to yourself
With hard mortar and stone
Be a rubber band man
Make the water your bones.
Dying just to live now.
The song ends with a question: “If nothing lasts forever, babe, then can we make a start?” The lyrics are broad enough to mean anything to the thousands of people who will undoubtedly sing this at the top of their lungs at the next Mumford & Sons gig.
‘Folklore’
Aaron Dessner has become an in-demand collaborator and producer. The guitarist co-produced Taylor Swift’s surprise 2020 release, Folklore, which won the GRAMMY for Album of the Year. He then worked with Swift on Folklore’s sibling release, Evermore.
While Mumford & Sons and Hozier have introduced folk music to a modern pop audience, Folklore connected Swifties to the indie cabin vibes of Bon Iver, whose frontman Justin Vernon has worked with both Dessner and Swift. (Vernon pairs with Swift on one of Folklore’s most emotional tracks, “Exile”.) Meanwhile, Dessner’s group, since 2001, has perfected the art of indie Dad Rock. (See the excellent High Violet as an example.)
The guest appearances between each artist reflect the collaborative fashion of the streaming age. Moreover, it gives a sense of community, echoing the communal spirit of traditional music.
You’re a world away
But you’re still the same
I know you by your heart
And I will call you by your name.
And it’s a long way
From the crack to the break
You know that I remember everything.
Photo by Rick Kern/WireImage
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