Every time I revisit M. Ward’s recording Post-War, I’m reminded of how much I really enjoy the talent of his songwriting, and promise to myself to invest more into his work. A promise that I have yet to fulfill, but will rectify this week in preparation for his performance at this year’s ACL Festival. As I write this, I find myself getting more excited about seeing Ward for the first time.

If you aren’t familiar with Ward’s work, surely you are familiar with a few of the many artists that he has been involved with over the years. The most recent project has him paired up with Zooey Deschanel recording under the band name She and Him, and previous collaborators include (and not limited to) My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst, Beth Orton, Cat Power, and Jenny Lewis, just to name a few. Ward performed with Jim James during this year’s SXSW Festival, which is yet another performance I kick myself for missing.

While finding himself in good company amongst some of the most talented modern day songwriters, Ward’s style feels and sounds more classic. From a time when radio brought fans the music, vinyl was the form, and digital was a futuristic idea not even being considered by the most inventive. It’s no surprise that Ward’s favorite piece of musical equipment, aside from his guitar one would believe, is a TASCAM 4-Track recorder on which he uses for every song that he writes.

M. Ward plays the WAMU stage @ 4:30 Friday the 26th. You should really be there.

MP3> M. Ward ‘Poison Cup’

MP3> M. Ward ‘Chinese Translation’

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 20th, 2008 at 10:43 am and is filed under ACL Festival 2008, mp3's, recommended.