Album Review: M. Ward's "Post-War"

Well, to M. Ward, how'd you guess? M. Ward, or Matt Ward as he's known to his mother, lived and sang in Portland, Oregon when I was a college student there, back in the early part of the century (remember then?). And that's how I stumbled across his sound -- a sound that willfully clashes with contemporary indie rock. I still think it was the most fitting introduction I've experienced to any music -- the mood perfectly supported M. Ward's meandering, rustic, Americana-inflected solo style -- and I still feel like I'm wandering over moist, deserted green Oregon grass under three-hundred foot Oregon trees when I hear M. Ward's distinctive songs.

And those on his newest album, Post-War, released August 22nd on Merge Records, are no exception. Though my favorite M. Ward tracks are usually the sad ones -- the title track on the newest album ranks up there with his best slow songs -- the discursive nature of his albums make them strong enough to support any mood, or to change your mood, or to disagree with your mood but still sound engaging.

Highlight

As if an album that works as one statement of mood can have highlights! OK, sure. "Requiem," the fifth track on Post-War, is vintage M. Ward: it begins with the affected twang of a delta bluesy guitar and meanders into a jumpy narrative about, well, about War. "Rollercoaster," a few tracks later, offers the kind of relaxed sweetness that makes M. Ward intoxicating to so many fans. (He's singing straight in my ear, right?) Finally, "Today's Undertaking" wounds like it's sung -- I mean sounds like it's sung -- not from the pit of Ward's belly, but from the depths of his toes; it's that honest, and that simple.

But enough cheer-leading (I'll leave that to the rest of the music press, ha!). OK, one more cheer. I'll just say this: it doesn't get much better than M. Ward where indie rock is concerned. So much so that I don't think he'll be considered indie rock much longer. Or anything "rock" for that matter. Just an American original -- and an American classic.