I can’t really work out why I got this album, as it is a collaboration between four predominantly folky US artists – Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes, Mike Mogis from Saddle Creek, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and M. Ward – none of whom I particularly like, nor own anything by apart from My Morning Jacket’s ‘Z’. Despite this I gave some of the songs a fair listen and found that I really liked them. James’ ‘Dear God (Sincerely MOF)’ is a great pop-folk song, with a yearning vocal and lush instrumentation – including lovely use of a harp – and is quite unlike anything that I had previously heard from any of the individual members’ canon. ‘Say Please’ is almost heavy rock, with its riffing guitar motif and searing solo, while ‘Whole Lotta Losin’’ is a driving country-rock tune. So far not much folk, but it makes an appearance with ‘Temazacal’, a typical Conor Oberst piece, but lifted by some lovely vocal harmonies on the chorus and a fuller backing than it would otherwise have been given. ‘The Right’ Place’ is pure country, with Mogis slide guitar giving it an authentic feel, and despite country music being my least favourite genre by far, I do actually quite like this. Ward’s ‘Baby Boomer’ has a bar-room bounce to it, while Oberst’s ‘Man Named Truth’ is a great guitar-pickin’ hillbilly tune. ‘Ahead Of The Curve’ sounds quite dreary after those two, but things pick up with ‘Slow Down Jo’, which even though it is even slower than ‘Ahead Of The Curve’ uses a sparse production, harmony vocals, and Mogis’ elegant steel guitar to make it a truly lovely song. ‘Losin’ Yo Head’ sees the return of the rock guitars, and the result is a fine country-rocker. ‘Magic Marker’ is a lovely country/folk tune with a great Byrdsian guitar solo, and ‘Sandman, The Brakeman And Me’ is just a beautiful song, all the better for being under-produced and allowing the voice and guitar to carry it. James closes the album with the aching ‘His Master’s Voice’, one of the few songs on here that deserve the folk epithet, and another gorgeous song from the My Morning Jacket man. Looking at it logically I should hate this album, made by people I don’t like in a genre that I can generally take or leave, and yet it works superbly well, and I love the whole thing. The secret is that each member has agreed to leave their individual idiosyncrasies at the door and just have a good time, and it really shows in their performances. Don’t be put off by the word ‘folk’ in the name – take a chance and just enjoy this great collection of songs.
