When Jian Ghomeshi came on the air last week on his show Q to announce that Mumford & Sons were stopping by in a few days to play in-studio, he described them as "Acoustic Rock Sensations." I rolled my eyes and shook my head. To me, the word "Rock" has always meant "heavy." Flippantly pairing the word "Rock" with words like "acoustic" or "folk" or "soft" undermines and strips it of all its deserving weight.

The Monks are a band that I have loved for a very long time in a lot of different ways. Bad Habits -- their first record -- has always been a failsafe for van listening on long drives for various tours for various bands: It's a record that has never let me down, that sounds good wherever you listen to it, no matter what you're doing. That's why we're releasing a cover album.