M. Ward

: M. Ward

A year ago one of my dreams was to see M. Ward live. If you had told me then that not only would I see him live twice in the next year but also I would be sitting front row, no make that in front of the front row ie. photographer pit I would have not believed it, well believe it, dreams come true. For a complete set of photos from this show see the Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30893898@N08/sets/72157622365837413/

In August I saw Matt Ward at the Rocky Mountain Folks festival and in September I saw him again at the alternative music festival held at the infamous Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver. What a day, the most beautiful venue in the world and one of the most talented musicians, singer songwriters to appear on the music scene in decades along with his band, Michael Coykendall (acoustic guitar), Adam Selzer (bass and electric guitar), Scott Mcpherson (drums), Nathan Anderson (keys and guitar), this was almost too much for my senses to handle, but somehow I managed.

It didn’t matter that it had been raining, it didn’t matter that it was cool, maybe even cold and it didn’t matter that most of the younger crowd I mentioned him too had never heard of M. Ward, nothing mattered except the amazing sonic wave that emanated from the stage on this cold September day in the Red Rocks of Colorado, the sound of M. Ward.

NPR.org is offering an exclusive live stream of M. Ward‘s new album, Hold Time. Hold Time will be released on February 17, 2009, but the CD and LP are available for pre-order now in the Merge store and you can listen to the entire album for free right here.

The songs of singer-guitarist M. Ward seem to drift in on the crackling radio waves of a distant time. Warm and intimate, his largely acoustic and usually spare arrangements are a tribute to what Ward sees as the greatest era for American music: the 1950s and early ’60s, when singers like Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison infused country-rooted pop with honesty and romance.

Ward’s latest album, Hold Time, continues this tradition, with a gorgeously produced mix of finger-picked guitars, upright bass and shuffling rhythms, all tied together by his achy voice.

The new disc was mixed by producer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis, with guest appearances by Lucinda Williams, Zooey Deschanel (She & Him), Rachel Blumberg (The Decemberists) and others. Though it mostly features all-new songs, Hold Time includes a handful of cover tunes, including Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me” and “Rave On,” made popular by Buddy Holly.

“I think the songwriting style of (Buddy Holly’s) period was superior,” Ward says in an interview with All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. “There was a certain amount of joy in it, no matter how sad the song is. You get joy in listening to these Buddy Holly or Roy Orbison sad lyrics. I’m attracted to songs that have balance between the darks and the lights and giving them all equal opportunity.”

Listen M. Ward’s unreleased album Hold Time for free here.

M. Ward tour dates available here.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 5:39 pm. It is filed under Monolith Festival 2009 and tagged with M. Ward, Monolith Festival 2009. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.