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| Album Rating: B+ |
Monsters of Folk sounded like a colossal failure on paper. That was because the band was made up of three different artists, three different audiences, three different sounds, and most importantly three different and large egos. How could the sentimental and rambling style of Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) possibly coexist with the classical and scholarly sound of Matt Ward (M. Ward)? How could the sexy and experimental style of Jim James possibly match the sounds of Oberst and Ward? How could they possibly blend three different song writing styles together in one album? How could they sacrifice their egos to make one song that wasn't trying to "one up" the other song? And how could they possibly convince us that this was actually anything more than a shameless promotion for their solo and group works? To make this album a success each artist would have to sacrifice the identities they have worked so hard building, they would have to sacrifice some of their ideas, and they would have to come together to realize that the genre and this group was more important than anything they ever done.
Monsters of Folk being successful would be more than simply a pleasant surprise, it would be a greatest feat of altruism and a great example of sharing and sacrificing ego's for the better of a group or an audience: it would be the musical equivalent of Kobe and Shaq deciding to move in together to do a hilarious reality show, the musical equivalent of the Socialist and Fascist coming together to pass a law that actually helps people, it is the musical equivalent of McCartney and Lennon sharing a drink in the afterlife (Paul died in a car wreck, duh,) and it is the musical equivalent of Spider-Man and the other new Spider-Man deciding to make another movie with another Spider-Man.
Monsters of Folk being successful not only seemed implausible on paper, it seemed to go against everything we believed about human nature and human behavior in general.
