Monsters of Folk is the indie-rock super group of the moment, joining together My Morning Jacket front man Jim James, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes and singer/songwriter M. Ward.
The Monsters’ self-titled debut was released in September. And since October, they’ve been on the road, playing as many as 35 songs during a sprawling set that runs nearly three hours and includes material from each of the members’ back catalogs. The tour lands at the Tabernacle Nov. 11.
The roots of the album go back five years, when James, Oberst, Mogis and Ward first toured together. Now, as then, the performances contrast their individual styles, even as they create a musical common ground.
James’ keening, reverb-drenched vocals and impressionistic lyrics have drawn comparisons to Neil Young, but over the summer he released a solo EP of George Harrison covers under the alter ego moniker, Yim Yames.
Oberst’s Americana and folkie leanings show in his collaborations with the likes of Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle, while other projects, such as Desaparecidos, veer into political punk rock.
Ward draws on blues, folk and country influences, working with Cat Power, Beth Orton and Jenny Lewis, and recording and touring with Zooey Deschanel as She & Him.
“We’ve all got our different aspects to our music and personalities,” Jim James said during a call from a stop in Phoenix. “Our voices are all pretty different. But together we just have a really natural energy.”
The tongue-in-cheek name, Monsters of Folk, certainly doesn’t describe the sound of the album, which varies stylistically from song to song. But if there’s an over-arching theme, it’s that many of the lyrics touch on spiritual questions.
The opening track, “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.),” has James taking the lead as the music spins out into a looping electronic realm, with synthesizers and drum programing. It also displays lush vocal harmonies, apparent throughout the rest of the album, that recall previous super groups such as Crosby, Stills and Nash, and the Traveling Wilburys.
Talking about recording the album, James said the sessions were surprisingly easygoing. He, Oberst and Ward each contributed five songs. Together with Mogis, they played all the instruments themselves, and Mogis did the recording and mixing.
“We just tried to have a lot of fun,” said James. “It was like we were all in high school again in our first band. Everybody wanted each other’s comments and suggestions, and everybody was just really open-minded. There was never any need to battle about anything or get into any ego scraps.”
On tour, Will Johnson of Centro-matic is behind the drum kit, while the four Monsters trade off on guitars, bass and keyboards, with Mogis serving as the utility man, playing pedal steel, mandolin and percussion, among other things.
“It’s great to get to play those roles you don’t normally get to play,” James said. “I feel like the whole record has the sound of us playing and having fun. You get the sound of somebody being in another person’s world. It’s like growing new lines in your brain.”
Concert preview
Monsters of Folk
8 p.m. Nov. 11, $36 advance / $38.50 day of show, Tabernacle, 152 Luckie Street N.W., Atlanta, 404-659-9022, www.tabernacleatl.com
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