Stereogum — Before launching high-profile collaborations She & Him (with Zooey Deschanel) and Monsters Of Folk (with Conor Oberst, Jim James, and Mike Mogis), Matthew Steven “M.” Ward stayed cranking out drowsy, dignified folk-rock LPs with retro sensibility... more info

Stereogum — Klara and Johanna Söderberg, the Swedish sisters who make up the duo First Aid Kit, learned to love American-heartland alt-roots music when they first heard Bright Eyes. In making their new album Stay Gold, the duo went to the source, traveling to O... more info

Stereogum — Conor Oberst’s new album Upside Down Mountain is his first in a few years, and part of the reason he’s taken so long between records is that he was working on a sci-fi screenplay for his Monsters Of Folk project. Oberst doesn’t think that anyth... more info

Stereogum — Conor Oberst is getting ready to release his new solo album Upside Down Mountain, his first collection of new songs since the 2011 Bright Eyes LP The People’s Key. (We’ve posted the new songs “Hundreds Of Ways” and “Governor’s Ball.”) T... more info

NME — 'How I Got Over' will be released on June 22 more info

Stereogum — “Dear God 2.0″ obviously remakes Monsters Of Folk’s “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)” and is maybe referencing “The Seed (2.0),” Internet 2.0, and (by default) XTC, but once Black Thought gets going, it reminds me of Common’s “Retrospec... more info

Stereogum — The Roots’ forthcoming How I Got Over will feature John Legend and Jim James, as well as a sample of The Milk-Eyed Mender’s “Book OF Right-On.” Newsom didn’t re-record it — she appears in sampled form. For his part, Jim James re-made Mons... more info

My Old Kentucky — As an general lover of all things Jim James/My Morning Jacket, I must admit that the Monsters Of Folk project (Conor Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward, Mike Mogis) has left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. Beyond their KISS cover band antics, I've barely fe... more info

Stereogum — The soulful, dreamy opener to Monsters Of Folk’s self-titled album tackles big spiritual questions, and its official video tries to put this all in perspective. Director/animator Lauri Faggioni begins among the stars and zooms to the cellular leve... more info

Stereogum — Conor Oberst is all grown up — after listening to Monsters Of Folk you might even think he’s your dad — but Omaha’s favorite indie-rock son still slides into his Bright Eyes angst rather easily. See, for instance, “Happy Accident,” which ... more info