''Monsters of Folk'' is the self-titled first and only studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band

Monsters of Folk Monsters of Folk was an American supergroup, consisting of Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes, Will Johnson from Centro-matic and M. Ward, solo artist and half of She & Him. The band was formed in 2 ...

, a group that consists of the artists

Jim James James Edward Olliges Jr. (born April 27, 1978), professionally known as Jim James or Yim Yames, is an American vocalist, guitarist, producer, and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket. He has also released several solo albums. ...

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, the Faint (previously named Norman Bailer), Commander V ...

M. Ward Matthew Stephen Ward (born October 4, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings; he has released ten studio albums since 19 ...

, and

Mike Mogis Michael Riley Mogis (born May 16, 1974) is an American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who, along with his brother A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Studios (previously known as Dead Space Recording and, earlier, Whoopass Recor ...

. Originally slated for release in 2010, the album was released through Shangri-La Music and Rough Trade on September 22, 2009. "Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)" samples Trevor Dandy's 1970 gospel song "Is There Any Love."

Track listing

#"Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)" – 5:07 #"Say Please" – 2:48 #"Whole Lotta Losin'" – 2:45 #"Temazcal" – 3:49 #"The Right Place" – 3:48 #"Baby Boomer" – 2:53 #"Man Named Truth" – 3:51 #"Goodway" – 2:01 #"Ahead of the Curve" – 3:40 #"Slow Down Jo" – 3:21 #"Losin Yo Head" – 4:37 #"Magic Marker" – 3:20 #"Map of the World" – 4:24 #"The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me" – 3:23 #"His Master's Voice" – 4:50

Reception

Critical

''Monsters of Folk'' was well received by critics. Music magazines '' Q'', ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'', and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' each awarded the record four out of five stars. Lucas Schott of "The Tide" ranked "Monsters of Folk" the number 1 album of 2009.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

newspapers ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' also gave the record a four out of five rating, the latter stating "this supergroup really is super." ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' called the album a "harmonious and occasionally electrified blend of folk-rock, country and white soul." ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'' magazine, however, gave the album two-and-a-half out of four stars, saying "There's so much talent in this supergroup—M. Ward, My Morning Jacket's Jim James, and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis—that you kind of expect more from them." It added, "Still, dreamy tunes like the soulful 'Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)' will help tame the beast within".Arnold, Chuck (October 12, 2009), "Monsters of Folk". ''People''. 72 (15):46

Commercial

''Monsters of Folk'' debuted and peaked at number 15 on the ''Billboard'' 200, along with also charting in the Top 10 of the five other ''Billboard'' charts.

Personnel

- vocals, guitar (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, and 15), baritone guitar (track 12), bass guitar (track 1), keyboards (tracks 3, 5, 10, and 11), drums (tracks 6 and 11), percussion (tracks 6 and 10) *

- guitar (tracks ), keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 4, 9, and 14), baritone guitar (tracks 3 and 7), percussion (tracks 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 14), mandolin (tracks 5, 7, and 8 ), drums (track 12), bass guitar (tracks 10 and 11) *

- vocals, guitar (tracks 1, 5, 11, 12, 13 and 15), bass guitar (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8), keyboards (tracks 1, 3, 5, 11, 12, and 15), drums (tracks 2, 5, 9 and 15), percussion (tracks 3 and 13), programming (tracks 1 and 3) *

- vocals, guitar (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14), bass guitar (tracks 2, 5, and 12), keyboards (tracks 3, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 15)

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monsters Of Folk (Album) 2009 debut albums Monsters of Folk albums Rough Trade Records albums Shangri-La Music albums Albums produced by Mike Mogis Albums recorded at Shangri-La (recording studio)