Monsters of Folk is an
American supergroup, consisting of
Jim James from
My Morning Jacket,
Conor Oberst and
Mike Mogis from
Bright Eyes, and
M. Ward, solo artist and half of
She & Him. The band was formed in 2004 when the members were on tour with their respective bands and solo projects. After playing together both on-stage and backstage, they started working together on various material. Due to the members' main projects, Monsters of Folk did not wrap up their first album until 2009, and it was released on September 22 on
Rough Trade. It debuted at 143 on the
Billboard Top 200 and peaked at 15. It also reached No. 3 on Top Independent Albums, No. 8 on Top Rock Albums, No. 7 on Top Digital Albums, and No. 6 on Top Alternative Albums.