MUMFORD & Sons like to imagine themselves as a family firm.

“We are like a fishmonger’s,” says singer and keys man Ben Lovett. “You know, when you go in one of those places there’s always a good vibe. I always associate it with pleasurable experiences.

“It’s the same with cheesemongers. We all like a bit of cheese. But not so much a butcher’s – that’s a bit more brutal.”

That ethos explains not just the band’s antiquated name, but also their gentlemanly style.

The self-styled “folk ’n’ roll” band may take their name from frontman Marcus Mumford, but are a true collective.

Their haunting acoustic country stylings – featuring banjo, double bass and four-part harmonies – have earned comparisons with Laura Marling, and Noah & The Whale (whose bass player, Matt Owens, went to the same school as Ben and Marcus).

The band has been working hard since 2007, picking up awards and earning support slots for The Maccabees and the aforementioned Laura, for whom Marcus drums.

But it’s the release, next month, of debut album Sigh No More – featuring cult single Little Lion Man (declared by Radio 1’s Zane Lowe as the “hottest record in the world today”) – which is set to make them one of the bands of the year.

“It’s been a great summer. It’s been mad – and we’ve been really up for it.

“It feels like we’ve grafted really hard over the past two years. We’ve toured a lot and grown from playing to five people to a lot more by gigging around. But we enjoy the touring lifestyle.”

Those shows have a loose, freewheeling charm – with each night feeling like a real event, as punters at Oxford’s Bullingdon pub will discover on Wednesday.

“We play songs we haven’t even finished writing,” says Ben. “We know there’s nowhere better to try songs than on stage.”

They clearly don’t believe in rehearsing. “We’ve all been in bands before, and I remember those days when we’d studiously spend a couple of days in rehearsal before each gig,” he recalls. “But with Mumford & Sons we’ve only ever had five rehearsals. We’d rather spend time writing.

“Our first tour was a complete jam,” he confides. “We’d even add one or two new songs every now and then. But we all have backgrounds in jazz, blues and country, which are improvisation-heavy.

“We can think on our feet. Nothing is planned out. We just play from our hearts – that’s where the energy comes from. It’s not cerebral; it’s raw emotion – and we try to convey that as honestly and straightfowardly as we can. And if that comes through, then ‘job done!’”

That old-fashioned sense of fraternal honesty shines through.

“We do share common values,” he insists. “That means always doing the honourable thing, and being upfront and not too shy with our emotions.”

Which brings us back to the family business.

“The name made sense when we started as a band,” he says. “Marcus, whose family name is Mumford, was a common factor between all of us. We wanted to get the idea across that we are brothers and that there is a family vibe.

“It’s a good image, and shows we have a healthy balance. We are all involved in the creative process and while we come to it from different angles, we all have the same goals. It’s hard to say without sounding cheesy, but we share old school values.”

“Perhaps we are more like an antique shop!”

l Mumford & Sons play the Bullingdon, Cowley Road, Oxford, on Wednesday. Sigh No More is out next month on Gentlemen Of The Road/Island Records.