Monsters of Folk
Self-titled
Shangri-La Music
Rating: 5
It’s a dream collaboration. Matt Ward of She & Him, Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes each offer their own distinct sound in this experimental folk side-project.
As inconsistent as their careers have been in the past, this album represents the high and lows of each musician’s journey to get to their relative success today. For example, Oberst’s haunting voice, on the verge of cracking at any moment, exudes a genuine feeling of sadness as he sings about self-discovery in “Temazcal.”
With all of the recycled crap we hear in music today, it’s refreshing to witness a group of musicians who truly care about the music they write, compose and produce. The layering of instruments, such as fingerstyle guitar, harmonica, reverberating drums and washed-out piano make Monsters of Folk a collaborative success.
Give these tracks a listen: “The Sandman, The Brakeman, and Me”, “Temazcal”
For Fans Of: Bright Eyes, Jim James, Calexico
– Uyen Cao
