After 15 years, the treasured alternative supergroup Monsters of Folk have reared their heads again to announce an anniversary reissue of the group’s one-and-only self-titled debut album. What’s more, the all-star ensemble of Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, M. Ward and Saddle Creek’s Mike Mogis have tacked five new tracks to the project, sharing a time capsule from its blink-and-you-missed-it heyday that captures an intimate and uninhibited session shared by the icons. The reissue is set to arrive on June 14 via ATO; fans can stream “Disappeared” now for a taste of what’s to come.

Monsters of Folk’s five new archival offerings are sourced from a 2012 recording session, which also features Will Johnson of Centro-matic, who toured with the quartet before becoming an official member in 2010 and currently supports Jason Isbell as a member of the 400 Unit. On the captured moment, Johnson reflects, “That session was very much kept in the moment. I remember looking over at Jim playing drums on ‘Disappeared,’ joyfully bashing away, and it harbored that same exuberance of starting your first band: that moment in the garage where things take flight, and the energy and happiness just lead you onward.” 

James–who joined the combination just after the release of My Morning Jacket’s landmark Evil Urges and has since risen to household status with his group–echoes this rooted and retrospective sentiment, offering, “Making this album brought me back to the same feelings I had when I first started a band, or first started playing music in general—there’s a real simplicity and excitement to playing with folks you don’t normally play with. The spirit of play is alive on this whole thing.”

Oberst, who recently revived Bright Eyes for 2020’s Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was after a decade of silence from the indie darlings, recalls of the collaborative process, “It was amazing to have a ringside seat for the way Jim and M. make records. Jim’s outside-the-box knack for soul and harmony and M.’s sense of space and songcraft were so inspiring and invaluable to me then, and continue to be to this day.”

Finally, the esteemed solo singer-songwriter Ward underscores the potent potential heard on the new release, which pours over with a wellspring of newly unlocked creative energy in its rough-hewn sound and the natural symbiosis of its ensemble. He reflects, “Debut records have a freedom that can’t be matched, because there’s no history to work from. I just hear the four of us following wherever the songs seem to be leading us.”

“Disappeared” is available on all streaming platforms now. The Monsters of Folk reissue will also include new selections titled “Sweet Silence,” “Museum Guard,” “Dear to the Assassin” and “The Living Thing,” atop its already stacked 15-song tracklist. For more information on the group and its long-awaited return, visit monstersoffolk.com.