When M. Ward, Mike Mogis, Jim James, and Conor Oberst announced plans to record together, fans were quick to link the supergroup to the Traveling Wilburys, who blazed a similarly star-studded path 20 years prior. Truth be told, Monsters of Folk's emphasis on harmony vocals and atmospheric arrangements has just as much in common with the work of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, even if the political concerns that grounded the latter group are largely absent here. Instead, the self-titled Monsters of Folk tackles religion, nature, love, and lust, with all four songwriters sharing vocals and songwriting duties. Mogis, who rose to prominence by playing a central but somewhat surreptitious role in Bright Eyes, receives slightly less screen time than the others, preferring instead to remain behind the scenes as producer and sideman. Even so, his guitar solo during "Say Please" is one of the album's loudest, rawest moments, and his production helps draw connections between the album's slew of songwriting styles and genres. "Folk" is defined broadly here, as the album encompasses everything from trip-hop to roots rock to homely, homespun pop. Spread over 15 tracks, the combination wears thin at several points, and several songs feel more like their creator's solo work than a composite product. Monsters of Folk has moments on undeniable beauty, though, and when the musicians pitch their voices atop one another -- as they do to notable effect on the gorgeous "Slow Down Jo" -- the benefits of teamwork are more than clear.
Monsters of Folk just finished up their US and Europe tour dates. If you were like me, and didn't live anywhere near any of the scheduled dates, here's a bootleg of the show in Philadelphia, PA. Featuring 31 songs, the band not only played songs off of their self-titled debut, but did an [...]
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A few days after Halloween, Monsters finally arrived in Boston at the Orpheum Theatre. Only this group of Monsters were toting musical instruments instead of pillow cases or paper bags and instead of costumes were donning suits [at least for most of the night, Mr. Oberst]. And those in attendance were the ones receiving the treat.Jim James (aka Yim Yames), Conor Oberst, M. Ward and Mike Mogis...
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The super group Monsters of Folk are made up of actual "monsters of folk" Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), M Ward (of late, the "him" of She and Him) and producer Mike Mogis (Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley, Sea Wolf, Cursive, etc).As a result of a 2004 one-off gig in Chicago, they first formed as the group "An Evening with Bright Eyes, Jim James and M Ward." Conor Oberst late...
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If the word “supergroup” makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone—that term has all too often created false hope for bands that should by definition be excellent but almost never fulfill those high expectations. But as jaded as you may be, it’s impossible not to be intrigued by the idea of folk superstars Jim James, Conor Oberst and M. Ward, together with Bright Eyes member and producer
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First off, the bloated press headlines that Monsters Of Folk are THE noughties "supergroup" are grossly exaggerated. Bright Eyes Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, along with My Morning Jackets's Jim James have been reasonably successful, but even they would be happy to concede that they are far from worldwide superstar status. Given the amount of time M.Ward has spent on tour, it's unlikely that he'...
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In 2004, indie rockers M. Ward, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), and Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) all got together for a tour. Creative sparks flew. Five years later, those sparks are all over their debut record, the cheekily-dubbed Monsters of Folk.The album's creation was a democratic, collaborative process, with the foursome writing, performing, and recording the entire album them...
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Three indie superstars (Conor Oberst, M. Ward, and My Morning Jacket's Jim James) get in the studio to record their best music in years.Oh, the folk collaboration. Often, the end result of locking three or more egos in a room to record music is a halfhearted haze of various drugs and alcohol. Remember all those car metaphors from the first Traveling Willbury’s record? That album was enjoyable b.
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Supergroups often fall flat, rarely living up to lofty expectations. From time to time, say the Travelling Wilburys for example, great artists can spark something even greater. So how will Monsters of Folk fair? This is an indie rock supergroup if ever there was one. My Morning Jacket's Jim James teams with master songsmith M. Ward and the Bright Eyes tandem of Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis.The
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For all the hype surrounding indie supergroup Monsters of Folk (Yim Yames, M. Ward, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis), their new self-titled album does more than deliver. It exceeds my expectations and that says a lot considering how much I love Ward and Yames and that I’ve been anticipating this album for well over a year.What [...]
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Monsters of Folk consists of Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes and M. Ward from She & Him. Though the band was formed in 2004 when the members were on tour with their respective bands, they did not wrap up their first album until this year, and it was released on September 22 ."The opening and closing tracks are two of the worst bookends for an albu...
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Is there a better way to celebrate Guy Fawkes day than to catch up on your late night performances? No, no there isn't. Last night was a vast improvement over the snoozefest that was Monday, so let's get to it. Jimmy Fallon continued to make amazing use of the Roots last night, this time letting them add some extra flavor to supergroup Monsters of Folk. Meanwhile, Ghostface Killah once agai...
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A few days after Halloween, Monsters finally arrived in Boston at the Orpheum Theatre. Only this group of Monsters were toting musical instruments instead of pillow cases or paper bags and instead of costumes were donning suits [at least for most of the night, Mr. Oberst]. And those in attendance were the ones receiving the treat.Jim James (aka Yim Yames), Conor Oberst, M. Ward and Mike Mogis...
More >
For all the hype surrounding indie supergroup Monsters of Folk (Yim Yames, M. Ward, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis), their new self-titled album does more than deliver. It exceeds my expectations and that says a lot considering how much I love Ward and Yames and that I’ve been anticipating this album for well over a year.What [...]
More >
In 2004, indie rockers M. Ward, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), and Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) all got together for a tour. Creative sparks flew. Five years later, those sparks are all over their debut record, the cheekily-dubbed Monsters of Folk.The album's creation was a democratic, collaborative process, with the foursome writing, performing, and recording the entire album them...
More >
Monsters Of Folk perform one of my favorite songs off their album with the motherfuckin' Roots! Okay! Here is "Dear God (Sincerely MOF)" on Jimmy Fallon's show. Having ?uestlove sitting behind you automatically makes you a little cooler.Pigeons and Planes
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First off, the bloated press headlines that Monsters Of Folk are THE noughties "supergroup" are grossly exaggerated. Bright Eyes Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, along with My Morning Jackets's Jim James have been reasonably successful, but even they would be happy to concede that they are far from worldwide superstar status. Given the amount of time M.Ward has spent on tour, it's unlikely that he'...
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Monsters Of Folk have posted two new songs on their MySpace profile, the technicolour-electronica of 'Dear God (Sincerely, M.O.F.)' and an acoustic ditty, 'The Sandman, The Brakeman And Me'.'Dear God...' has the kind of sonic palate and widescreen ambition that Digital Ash In A Digital Urn aspired to, plus a superb falsetto turn from Jim James, whereas 'The Sandman...' is M. Ward with extra dus...
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If your memory serves you right, you'll remember a recent post about the music video for the MOF tune "The Right Place". Here's another one featuring the band doing a live in-studio performance with Oberst taking the vocal duties on selected verses. Share this on del.icio.usDigg this!Share this on RedditBuzz up!Stumble [...]
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Supergroups often fall flat, rarely living up to lofty expectations. From time to time, say the Travelling Wilburys for example, great artists can spark something even greater. So how will Monsters of Folk fair? This is an indie rock supergroup if ever there was one. My Morning Jacket's Jim James teams with master songsmith M. Ward and the Bright Eyes tandem of Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis.The
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The Monsters of Folk tour kicked off last week and has been receiving rave reviews at every stop. Mike Mogis, M. Ward, Jim James and Conor Oberst have been performing a mix of material from the MOF debut as well as each of their repertoires. Here’s Monsters of Folk tackling MMJ’s Golden…Monsters of Folk - Golden
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Over the past few days, Monsters of Folk have been putting out a slew of live videos from a recent studio session they did. Here's the latest one for the Oberst penned track "Temazcal". To be honest, I was a little bit put off when I saw M. Ward taking over vocal duties [...]
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Recent supergroup and all together good idea, the Monsters Of Folk foursome featuring Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, M. Ward and Jim James of My Morning Jacket have decided to stream their entire upcoming debut free of charge. The eponymous first record from the the folk quartet is ready to stream in its entirety as of this very moment from the bands Myspace page HERE.
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Monsters of Folk just finished up their US and Europe tour dates. If you were like me, and didn't live anywhere near any of the scheduled dates, here's a bootleg of the show in Philadelphia, PA. Featuring 31 songs, the band not only played songs off of their self-titled debut, but did an [...]
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Dear God (Sincerely M.o.f.) |
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| 2 Say Please |
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| 3 Whole Lotta Losin' |
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| 4 Temazcal |
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| 5 The Right Place |
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| 6 Baby Boomer |
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| 7 Man Named Truth |
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| 8 Goodway |
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| 9 Ahead Of The Curve |
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| 10 Slow Down Jo |
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| 11 Losin Yo Head |
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| 12 Magic Marker |
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| 13 Map Of The World |
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| 14 The Sandman, The Brakeman And Me |
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| 15 His Master's Voice |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Monsters of Folk")
