Are the Monsters of Folk coming back?

So, the Monsters of Folk are confirmed as performers for Austin City Limits, the Oct. 5-7 festival in Austin, Texas. It's run by the same folks that run Lollapalooza and basically has the same format.

It begs the question: Will the Monsters of Folk get back together and make another album?

I say yes. In fact, let's give that one a hell yes.

In my interview with Mike Mogis (read the story that ran Sunday), he couldn't stress enough how fun the first album was to make. Also, he was excited about the chance to make a second record with his buddies Conor Oberst, Jim James and M. Ward.

I also spoke to Ward about his buddy Mogis for the purposes of the profile linked to above. And he had something curious to say.

"Mike is an international man of mystery because the moment you think you know how many talents he has, he unleashes a new one - I didn't know he played drums until we recorded the first Monsters of Folk record," Ward said.

It's a minor detail, but a telling one. Ward talked about "the first Monsters of Folk record." It implies there will be a second.

And in any interview those guys gave, they talked about how great of a time it was. Not to mention the record was well received, hitting No. 15 on Billboard's chart on its release. Oh, and it was the No. 1 on the Heatseakers chart as well as hitting top 10 on the indie, alternative, folk and digital charts. Not too shabby.

When will we see a second album? I'd guess next year. Mogis and Oberst are doing a new Bright Eyes record now and later this summer, Mogis told me, which means they're probably looking at a fall release (as previously reported) and a tour after that.