Album Review

It’s been a while since we had a supergroup the caliber of Monster of Folk (Chickenfoot fans may express their righteous indignation at this point.) The members are a who’s who of indie-rock royalty: Jim James, leader of My Morning Jacket, M. Ward, workhorse solo act and critical darling as the “Him” of She & Him, Conor Oberst, hyper-intense singer-songwriter, and Mike Mogis, who aided Oberst as a member of Bright Eyes before Conor struck out on his own a few years back. I guess James Mercer of the Shins was unavailable; otherwise they’d have just about had the college-radio market in a stranglehold with this project.

The jokingly boastful name of the group might be the first hint that this might be a little more lighthearted than you would otherwise expect from these guys. The obvious comparison to make, from the winking name to the pass-the-mike vocals, would be the Traveling Wilburys, that late-80’s conglomeration of rock stars that famously shunned all ego and produced a rollicking landmark that holds up to this day.

While the Wilburys stuck pretty strictly to a roots-rock format that best suited their fun-loving tales, the Monsters take more stylistic detours throughout their 15 songs. Only Ward seems truly comfortable in that rockabilly vibe, effortlessly turning out the churning “Whole Lotta Losin’,” one of the album’s highlights. “Baby Boomer” is a less successful attempt at a similar sound, although the production eerily mirrors Jeff Lynne’s air-brushed rockabilly work with Wilburys.

The Monsters do have their very own “Handle With Care” in “Say Please,” a breezily catchy track featuring alternating vocals by the three singers before they come together on the chorus. But, aside from that, you know pretty much what you’re going to get from these guys: Ethereally gorgeous vocals from James, hyper-intense and literate lyrics from Oberst, and broken-hearted loneliness from Ward.

The group is at its best when the collective supports the strengths of one individual, like when James and Ward chip in some great intertwining vocals at the end of Oberst’s mystical, soul-searching folk songs “Temazcal” and “Map of The World,” both of which would have been welcome on Oberst’s tepid release earlier this year with the Mystic Valley Band.

The few aberrations from the norm turn out to be winners, including Ward’s entrancingly slow ballad “Slow Down Jo” and the power-pop romp “Losin’ Yo Head,” an enticing ode to recklessness. But all of the breeziness and effortless songwriting chops can’t mask the fact that this album lacks a true killer track, one in which the members come together to really create something magical. Taking the Wilburys back into consideration, they had Roy Orbison’s tragic masterpiece “Not Alone Anymore” and Dylan’s savagely brilliant Springsteen parody “Tweeter And The Monkey Man” to hold down the weightlessness of the other songs on their first album, but the Monsters don’t have anything quite so momentous.

The closest they come are on the tracks that bookend the album, a pair of songs about the difficulty of faith. The opener, “Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.),” is an uneasy marriage of a trip-hop rhythm and CSN harmonies. The closer, “His Master’s Voice,” wisely hangs its hat on James’ majestic vocals but floats off into the ether without ever really hitting home. Thus, the weighty subject matter is ultimately underserved.

Monsters Of Folk rolls along pleasantly enough, albeit for maybe a few songs too many, and it’s a nice footnote to the prolific careers of all involved. However, with all of the talent on display, it’s only natural for fans to have expected something a little bit more.

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