Monsters Of Folk

Monsters of Folk
Very rarely does a supergroup actually live up to it's name, and when your supergroup consists of Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, M. Ward of solo fame and She & Him, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket, some of the most well known names in the indie scene then you better back up all the hype that you are going to get, Monsters of Folk did just that. The self titled album which was released on September 22 is a monstrous album, pardon the pun. The album feels as if it was truly a group effort, each song has a different feel to it and you can tell that each member of the band put his own touch on all 15 songs included on this album.

The albums begins with a song that feels a bit unlike anything anyone in the band has done before. While Conor and Mike dabbled a bit in electronics with "Digital Ash In A Digital Urn" back in 2005, this still has a different feel to it. The song "Dear God, Sincerely M.O.F" deals with the ever present theme of questioning religion in music but definitely hit the nail on the head with this song. The lyrics that M. Ward, Jim James, and Oberst are singing out to God are definitely thought provoking ("I've been thinking about/and I've been breaking down without an answer/I know I'm thinking aloud but if your loves still around why do we suffer?") and are anything but generic. The second track "Say Please" sounds almost like a misplaced song from Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band's latest album "Outer South" with it's classic rock sounding riffs combined with the folk vocals. Ironically enough the song "Man Named Truth" seemed familiar to me upon first listen, then I realized that it was played during the 2007 Bright Eyes tour. Either way each song has it's own feel that there was a person in the band who came to the table with an idea and each other member put his own say into it, which is what should be done with a band that has such amazing talent in it. There isn't a weak track on this album and it's definitely credited to the fact that each member had such a large amount of say in the songwriting.

One of the things I didn't like though is how the album does seem to lag a bit in terms of continuity towards the end until it hits track thirteen with "Map of the World". In terms of single tracks the album does not have a bad song on it, but the flow of it does not seem right in terms of being on the album. It just drags on a bit which is the reason that I didn't enjoy this album as much as I could have. However, don't let that deter you from picking up the album because it's definitely one that is worth listening to, especially with the great closer of "His Master's Voice" continuing on the theme that the album began with of religion. The album definitely lives up to the hype that it was given and maybe a little bit more, but it is lacking that little something that makes it a truly amazing album.

Rating: 8/10
Standout Tracks: "Dear God", "Temazcal", "Man Named Truth", "The Sandman, The Brakeman, and Me"