Artist: M. Ward
Title: Hold Time
Label: 4AD
Genre: Indie
Bitrate: 187kbit av.
Time: 00:44:36
Size: 63.38 mb
Rip Date: 2009-02-04
Str Date: 2009-02-16
1. For Beginners (AKA Mt. Zion) 2:47
2. Never Had Nobody Like You (Ft. Zooey Deschanel) 2:26
3. Jailbird 2:31
4. Hold Time 3:05
5. Rave On (Ft. Zooey Dechanel) 3:35
6. To Save me (Ft. Jason Lytle) 3:01
7. One Hundred Million Years 2:11
8. Stars Of Leo 3:18
9. Fisher Of Men 3:12
10. Oh, Lonesome Me (Ft. Lucinda Williams) 6:05
11. Epistemology 3:49
12. Blake's View 2:29
13. Shangri-La 2:20
14. Outro (AKA I'm A Fool To Want You) 3:47
Release Notes:
On his sixth solo album, M. Ward turns in a star-studded set
that feels at once a logical progression from 2006's Post-War
and a step closer to that all-out classic his preceding
suggests; an assimilation and appropriation of American blues,
gospel, country and folk as lovingly, winningly relayed as
we've come to expect from the Portland-based troubadour. A
quick appraisal of his career thus far reveals a success
slow-burning and richly deserved, more so: the jubilant
intimation that from the shoestring-budget, rough-hewn Duet
for Guitars #2 to the technicolour splendour of his latest
efforts, Ward's hallmarks have both been evidenced - and
flourished magnificently - throughout.
Chiefly, Ward's albums sound familiar, in the best possible
way. An intuitive, innately talented guitarist (for whom the
use of a four-track cassette recorder has become an intricate
part of the songwriting process) and an accomplished producer
in his own right, the apparent ease in which he lays his
skills to tape is commendable. The dusty, Americana vibe that
so strongly informed his debut resonates equally some ten
years down the line (though finding itself in admittedly
lusher surroundings), while his cracked, soulful voice remains
as emphatically warm and languid as ever.
A proclivity for reinterpreting the greats also shines through
on this record. Where Transistor Radio opened with a vibrant
instrumental take on The Beach Boys' ╡You Still Believe In
Me', here he closes proceedings similarly with a gorgeous
version of the Frank Sinatra/Billie Holiday-popularised 'I'm A
Fool To Want You', and in a comparable instance to the
twinkling, starry-eyed Bowie adaptation 'Let's Dance' on
Transfiguration Of Vincent, here the country standard 'Oh
Lonesome Me' makes a commanding, sedate appearance, Lucinda
Williams' weather-worn pipes offsetting Ward's dulcet tones to
admirable effect. Not to mention the thoroughly charming soft
buzz of 'Rave On', one of two numbers where the 'She' of She &
Him contributes winsome backing vocals.
Guests do feature prominently here (which for the most part is
mixed and aided by multi-instrumentalist Bright Eye Mike
Mogis). Peter Broderick provides the strings, old acquaintance
Jason Lytle pops up on the joyously infectious 'To Save Me'
(synth? You better believe it) - but the album remains Ward's
show. The shimmering slow burn of its title track illustrates
this; his rich croon resting atop a bed of strings in
something less like a song, more like the most romantic,
heartfelt imploration you've ever heard, flawlessly set to
music: "Yeah, I wrote this song just to remember / the
endless, endless summer in your laugh."
Thematically there's not quite as much to go on as previous -
Transistor Radio was a love letter to the golden age of AM
Radio, and Post-War a dual attempt to return to and consider
the kind of music produced following great conflict. Clues,
however, can be garnered from its central statement: there's a
disarmingly sweet song here entitled 'One Hundred Million
Years', loosely suggesting you could posit the notion of time
- or timelessness itself - as a prominent factor ("The lights
that shine tonight / Will burn on when we die / Oh my soul,
one hundred million years").
A cynic might point towards the lack of Ward's mesmeric
finger-picking on display, suggest the purest distillation of
his talent can be found in earlier, more guitar-centric works
- even state that at 14 tracks, a slight trim wouldn't go
amiss. These doubts should be surely quelled by the likes of
'Epistemology', a mandolin-flecked, Catholicism-informed pop
song (!) so simply, generously, eloquently, melodiously
heartbreakingly perfect that to try and write any more about
it would be an exercise in futility. The subsequent 'Blake's
View' and 'Shangri-La' further expound that song's
philosophical hues, before Hold Time bids us graceful farewell
with aforementioned 'Outro (AKA I'm A Fool To Want You)'.