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Monsters of Folk will reissue their debut—and only—album on June 14, adding five unreleased songs recorded in a 2012 session. Listen to one of them, “Disappeared,” below. In addition to the original supergroup of Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and M. Ward, the extra songs feature Will Johnson of Centro-Matic.
Johnson says in a press release, “That session was very much kept in the moment. I remember looking over at Jim playing drums on ‘Disappeared,’ joyfully bashing away, and it harbored that same exuberance of starting your first band: that moment in the garage where things take flight, and the energy and happiness just lead you onward.”
James, Ward, and Oberst also reflect on the album in the press release. Says James, “Making this album brought me back to the same feelings I had when I first started a band, or first started playing music in general—there’s a real simplicity and excitement to playing with folks you don’t normally play with. The spirit of play is alive on this whole thing.”
Oberst says, “It was amazing to have a ringside seat for the way Jim and M make records. Jim’s outside-the-box knack for soul and harmony and M’s sense of space and songcraft were so inspiring and invaluable to me then, and continue to be to this day.”
Ward adds, “Debut records have a freedom that can’t be matched, because there’s no history to work from. I just hear the four of us following wherever the songs seem to be leading us.”
The other archival songs included are “Dear to the Assassin,” “Sweet Silence,” “The Living Thing,” and “Museum Guard.” ATO is releasing the reissue.
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Monsters of Folk (Deluxe):
01 Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)
02 Say Please
03 Whole Lotta Losin
04 Temazcal
05 The Right Place
06 Baby Boomer
07 Man Named Truth
08 Goodway
09 Ahead of the Curve
10 Slow Down Jo
11 Losin Yo Head
12 Magic Marker
13 Map of the World
14 The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
15 His Master’s Voice
16 Dear to the Assassin
17 Sweet Silence
18 The Living Thing
19 Museum Guard
20 Disappeared