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A collaboration between Bright Eyes’ indie eye candy Conor Oberst, his Bright Eyes bandmate Mike Mogis, singer-songwriter M. Ward (most widely known for his She & Him project with the actress Zooey Deschanel), and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Monsters of Folk is a pleasant enough, but ultimately unrewarding, excursion through a pasteurised, skimmed and attractively packaged-in-plastic take on raw, warm and bubbling American roots music.
If America’s folk revival received its greatest commercial success with Simon & Garfunkel, Monsters of Folk is a continuation in a similar vein, only without the peculiar dynamic, soaring pop that that pairing offered. Like much of what has been bracketed with the term in recent years, this isn’t folk the sense of traditional songs that are in some way bigger than those who pass them on in a rich oral tradition. Instead, it’s ‘folk’ as a catchall term for any music made using an acoustic guitar, banjo, the odd trill of fiddle and flute and a few harmonies, released with rustic signifiers on the sleeve.
In reality, this merely sounds like an acoustic spin off of Bright Eyes or M. Ward – fine if that’s how it had been labelled, but the titling of this project as Monsters of Folk feels disingenuous. Indeed, the clicking beats and processed harp of the cringingly titled Dear God (Sincerely MOF) sounds like an overly-produced 80s curio. The 50s rock‘n’roll of Whole Lotta Losin’ similarly has reedy-sounding synths, but the rollicking’ chorus comes across as a novelty that you could imagine advertising family ribs ‘n’ fries night at a Midwest restaurant with tables of cheap Formica and menus where the laminate is peeling.
Monsters of Folk is a frustrating record in part because of the participants’ undeniable ability to hew memorable songs from their multi-instrumentalism and individual, distinctive vocals – the urgency of Man Named Truth is a clear example of this. But ultimately this collection is characterised by a rather bland and saccharine air, the songs often falling short of matching the contributing musicians’ own ventures. Those seeking a more evocative treatment of the American pastoral would do better to seek out Grizzly Bear’s wonderful Veckatimest, Wye Oak, or Bon Iver’s Volcano Choir project. For there are no rough edges here, a fact signified by the thorn-less fauna adorning the record’s sleeve. --Luke Turner
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
'Monsters' may be perhaps an inappropriate term for a bunch of bearded folkies, but it is no understatement. This album, hinted at for years, brings together four of the gentle giants of American rootsy indie music for one genuinely all-star album. Yet the Monsters are actually far more varied than their 'folk' tag might suggest. They may include old-fashioned singer-songwriter M.Ward and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, who has recently restricted himself mostly to making warm country records, however there's also Jim James of My Morning Jacket, whose recent output has been characterised by funk hooks and soulful squealing.
At the start of their debut, the Monsters of Folk seem keen to make their range of styles clear. One might expect a rendition of 'Scarborough Fair' to kick things off, but opener 'Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)' is an understated jam featuring harps and - yep - beats. The tag-team vocals introduce everything perfectly, and it all comes together for a perfect falsetto chorus.
'Dear God' is a magnificent introduction, however its trippy style was clearly a short-lived idea conjoured up somewhere in the two years this album took to come together. The rest of 'Monsters of Folk' plays on the strength which all the players have in common, namely a flair for old-timey folk and country homage. Almost every track sounds like a dewey-eyed throwback, most noticeably on the sentimental ramblings about steamtrains on crackly fingerpicked ballad 'The Sandman, The Brakeman, and Me'.
Much like the debut album by the similarly lofty indie-rock supergroup Swan Lake, a key weakness (or strength, if you're a mega-fan of one artist) is that some of the tracks sound like offcuts from each member's individual bands, with the odd bit of guest backing vocals. 'Temazcal' is classic Conor Oberst, right down to the romantic melodrama ("Our love we made at gunpoint wasn't love at all"). 'Baby Boomer', meanwhile, is instantly recognisable as an M. Ward creation by that warm, familiar glow which has surrounded all his albums.
Aside from that tantalising first track, the Monsters Of Folk primarily deliver what was expected from them. The quality of songwriting is unsurprisingly superb, and the shared vocals conjour the warm feel of a campfire singalong. That alone makes it a perfectly enjoyable album, but its full impact will depend on whether we're content with them comfortably drifting on autopilot.
At the start of their debut, the Monsters of Folk seem keen to make their range of styles clear. One might expect a rendition of 'Scarborough Fair' to kick things off, but opener 'Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)' is an understated jam featuring harps and - yep - beats. The tag-team vocals introduce everything perfectly, and it all comes together for a perfect falsetto chorus.
'Dear God' is a magnificent introduction, however its trippy style was clearly a short-lived idea conjoured up somewhere in the two years this album took to come together. The rest of 'Monsters of Folk' plays on the strength which all the players have in common, namely a flair for old-timey folk and country homage. Almost every track sounds like a dewey-eyed throwback, most noticeably on the sentimental ramblings about steamtrains on crackly fingerpicked ballad 'The Sandman, The Brakeman, and Me'.
Much like the debut album by the similarly lofty indie-rock supergroup Swan Lake, a key weakness (or strength, if you're a mega-fan of one artist) is that some of the tracks sound like offcuts from each member's individual bands, with the odd bit of guest backing vocals. 'Temazcal' is classic Conor Oberst, right down to the romantic melodrama ("Our love we made at gunpoint wasn't love at all"). 'Baby Boomer', meanwhile, is instantly recognisable as an M. Ward creation by that warm, familiar glow which has surrounded all his albums.
Aside from that tantalising first track, the Monsters Of Folk primarily deliver what was expected from them. The quality of songwriting is unsurprisingly superb, and the shared vocals conjour the warm feel of a campfire singalong. That alone makes it a perfectly enjoyable album, but its full impact will depend on whether we're content with them comfortably drifting on autopilot.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is the debut album from a band featuring Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes and Jim James and M. Ward from My Morning jacket. The idea in itself sounds like it might be a bad one since each of the major players here has their own styles and idiosyncrasies that don't really fit together under normal circumstances. Having said this, the result is very pleasing. Beautifully balanced opener `Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)' is gentle and almost ethereal in true Jim James style, but it suggests what this collaboration can achieve. Vocal duties are carefully split throughout the album which gives a nice dynamic and brothers in arms feel. It has its folk influences but does feel very much like a rock album that was constructed from late night front room sessions and tour after parties sitting in smoky hotel rooms. This ultimately is a very accomplished take on old folk/rock traditions.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Terrible title - great album. As a result, it will no doubt sell less well than it should but that doesn't stop this being a truly exceptional album as one might have expected from the pedigree of the collaborators. Various reviewers have questioned how effective the collaboration, but this misses the point; there is enough evidence of the album working in the opener alone and plenty more to follow, but even if you treat it as a various album, it's a great one. They were always peas in a pod anyhow. In keeping with the group's collective view on classification, it is impossible to helpfully define the genre and I would hazard that 'folk' is not it. But who cares when its this good. Certainly my album of the year - unless I can make sense of 'The Resistance' before Christmas.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Enjoyable
The strong combination of musicians from some of todays highest performing and most innovative alternative country bands really showed through in the quality of the tracks on this... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Richard J. Hillier
Something for everyone.
This CD has a lot of heart and is quite varied. Conor and Mike are as great as always and the CD just works.
Like folk? You'll love this!
Like folk? You'll love this!
Published 18 months ago by The man dressed as a light bulb
A Grower
I've had this CD for a while and it took time to work it's magic , got there eventually though !
So much subtlety and variety on show and some absolutely top notch songwriting... Read more
So much subtlety and variety on show and some absolutely top notch songwriting... Read more
Published on 17 April 2010 by William Stephen Dalrymple
A Good mix between Indie and Folk
When I got this CD I wasnt sure what it would be like as I had never heard of the band before. I was very pleasantly supprised and listen to the CD on average at least once a week
Published on 29 Mar 2010 by Tom Parham
oh dear
i am not really a great folk music fan so it is hardly fair for me to judge it but it sounded to me like the very famous musicians were playing very hard and very seriously and... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2009 by Dr. R. Westrop
What's That Coming Over The Hill, Billy? (7/10)
Conor Oberst is a prolific little devil and make no mistake. His emotional Bright Eyes persona has taken a back seat, the last release from which was in the easy-listening form of... Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2009 by Gannon
behold a SUPERGROUP
Just can not resist country rock,anyone who has bought albums from Conor'o'berst will love this.They have already been labelled a supergroup & when you see who the members are you... Read more
Published on 3 Oct 2009 by SCREEN77
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