Monsters of Folk force you to use your manners

Attention scenesters, hipsters and/or elitists: There is a new record dropping September 22 which you need to know about immediately so you can impress all of your less-cool friends by simply knowing about it – and then also saying you’ve heard and fully analyzed the first single.

Monsters of Folk is the band in question. MofF is Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and singer/songwriter M.Ward. This band is automatically cool just by that line-up. But not a jump up and down, pumping your first in the air kind of cool. It’s a “oh yeah, they’re cool, I guess,” forced reluctance even though you’re excited kind of cool.

It goes without saying this band is so cool they’re not going to sign autographs, play cover songs or have drinks with you after a show. So don’t get your hopes up. These fellas are living kings of modern singer/songwriting and looking them directly in the eye may or may not turn you into stone.

Although they’ve toured together before, there’s this new self-titled album that marks their first recorded output as a band. You’ll be able to get it on September 22nd on Shangri-La Music, Rough Trade Records, Spunk Records and P-Vine Records.

Yes, that’s four. It takes four labels to fully realize the amount of potential folky coolness here.

MofF is offering the single off their debut, “Say Please,” for free at http://www.monstersoffolk.com.

Just type “please” into the request form. They’re serious about that. I tried “whatever,” “shrug,” and “maybe later” into the blank, and none of those worked.

No tour dates yet, but I’m sure they’re forthcoming. So get yourself some Monsters of Folk now, but keep it a secret until you hear someone mention it a party. Then casually walk up and say, “Oh yeah, I got their single forever ago,” like it’s no big deal. That’s how monsters roll.

Fun fact: a local Minneapolis guy owned and sold the www.monstersoffolk.com URL to the band a few months back. He technically knew about all of this before me and now you. So there. Know your place.

UPDATE:
Monsters of Folk will play Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theater on October 29.