Monsters of Folk performing their song, Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.), with the Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. (10/4/09)

Monsters of Folk is a group that consists of, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Connor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes and M. Ward. Their first album came out in September. In Rolling Stone & Pitchfork’s review of the album, they likened the group to our era’s Traveling Wilburys, which was a supergroup that consisted of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne. I would say that is a pretty good comparison. All the members of Monsters of Folk are from very well known and loved bands. I don’t own this album, so I really can’t give my own input as to how I feel about it, but I have heard a couple tracks which were enjoyable. This song especially, I really like.

Rolling Stone gave the album 4 out of 5 stars saying, “But the most striking thing, especially given the punch-line band name, is the quality and cohesiveness of the material. James, Oberst and Ward get to sing lead on five tracks each, and though any individual authorship is cloaked under collective writing credits, their signature styles stand out like scents in a Southern Italian kitchen.”

Pitchfork gave it a 6.5 out of 10 saying, “Very few of the tunes here are flawless, but most of them at least deliver something interesting…Like the combined output of all four, these 15 tracks— a mix of highs and lows, stylistic risks and reservations, songs that sound either exactly or nothing like the past of the person singing it— are as frequently frustrating as they are satisfying”