Mumford & Sons to release new album "Babel" in September

Marcus Mumford of British folk rock band Mumford and Sons performs at the Optimus Alive Festival in Alges, on the outskirts of Lisbon July 14, 2012.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British folk band Mumford & Sons on Sunday said they will release their second album, "Babel," on September 25, calling the eagerly anticipated follow-up to "Sigh No More" a "natural progression" written on the road.

"We love playing live, obviously, but it had also become an important part of our creative process. We had been writing and rehearsing in soundchecks, and sort of 'road-testing' new songs on our very gracious audiences. But then we fell in love with recording again," the group said in a statement.

"As a band, we've never been closer or more collaborative, all working to our strengths. And so we feel that this record is a natural progression that we're proud of, and we cannot wait to take it out on the road," the band said.

"Sigh No More" propelled the London-based quartet to international stardom, led by singles "Little Lion Man" and "The Cave." Mumford & Sons consists of lead singer Marcus Mumford, keyboardist/accordion player Ben Lovett, banjo player Country Winston Marshall and bassist/drummer Ted Dwane.

The band was forced to cancel two shows last month after Mumford, who sings and plays guitar and other instruments, broke his hand. The group recruited two musicians to fill in for him and will continue their "Gentlemen of the Road Stopover Shows" tour around the United States in August.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Gary Hill)