Tuesday, January 27, 2009

M. Ward - Hold Time

Artist - M. Ward
Album - Hold Time
Release - Feb. 17, 2009 (Merge Records)



“It’s networking." responded a stripper when asked how she ended up in the porn industry.

Matt Ward, or simply M. Ward, is a singer/songwriter from the Portland, Oregon area, embraced by all tiers of music junkies and casual fandom. His slow burn to fame came about after his 2001 release Duet for Guitars #2.

M. Ward’s enigmatic qualities subdued his media attention, keeping him a well guarded secret to the Portland area for a few years. That was until he caught the curiosity of fellow musicians like Conner Oberst, the White Stripes and Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley, who would bring him along on tour as their supporting act.

Not only playing solo, he had caught the attention of actress and raspberry-laced vocalist, Zooey Deschanel, and the pair would go on to record as the vintage '60s pop, She and Him. As rumors have it, Oberst is also currently in the works of forming a band with Ward.

Embracing his expressive, deft guitar playing and clever ways of making me feel like my dad when thoughts like, “They sure don’t make music like this anymore,” run through my head, M. Ward is the sort of guy who clinches the imagination and follows each album with a thick haze of satisfaction.

I’m going to preface this with an, ‘I’m sorry’.

Music swapping is a highly lucrative, yet evil deed. Things just sort of happen; it starts off innocent, than the music swapping gives you that bashful look and you can’t resist. Next thing you know you and the illicit music are sitting on the hood of your car while Zeppelin plays softly from your flat stereo system, watching the radio tower flicker in the distance and discussing if Bob Weir of the Dead was really all that bad.

You decide that he is. Afterward, you take music home… and take things slowly.

And don’t act like you’ve never done it… you’re all culpable. Every last one of you has intentionally pirated music whether it is the act of downloading or receiving the aforementioned download.

Hold Time, M. Ward’s sixth studio album, is guilty of being just as addictive and gratifying as his other albums.

For those who are familiar with any of M. Ward’s work, it obvious here that he’s doing something different: it’s less rustic and more pop. In all its continuously feel-good greatness, Hold Time is a step in a different direction, but not in the opposite.

Never Had Nobody Like You, is another retro pop signature of the lunar connection between Ward and guest vocalist, Zooey Deschanel; a track which could easily be slipped onto Volume 2.

Ward’s style both transcends the music itself, but never exceeds its limits. He’s become a pioneer of his own frontier, but on tracks like One Hundred Million Years, a folk/country tune in which any fan of Ward can take comfort, it’s obviously prime Ward - stripped down, idyllic and fills the room with a sense of wonderment.

Hold Time makes well of Ward’s most recent musical ventures, disclosing an evolved sound with the promising ring of his prior albums. He never lets go, never gets ahead of himself. It’s right where it should be.

www.myspace.com/mward

2 comments:

Samantha said...

I could pretty much picture this in a music magazine.

And mmmm... Zooey Deschanel...

Anonymous said...

I liked this post. Very much you.

But....For those of us who aren't journalism majors or don't have time to read anything but parenting books:

cul⋅pa⋅ble:[kuhl-puh-buhl]
–adjective deserving blame or censure; blameworthy.

When did you learn grown-up words? You were, like, 12 when you figured out how to say spaghetti. LOL