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Interesting artist is M. Ward. He actually helped Norah Jones get her start–more accurately would be the fact that they helped each other get started. Cutting across all genres, Matt is respected by many musicians including Jim James, Neko Case, Lucinda Williams, and Conor Oberst to name only a few. An accomplished guitar player spliced directly from the DNA of Juana Molina and Keller Williams, his playing skills are only overshadowed by his abilities to write intense song-stories that quickly take the listener to realistic landscapes of personal reflections and psychodynamic realities (Chinese Translation, Rollercoaster). Such stories are delivered to the listener on the wings of haunting melodies that are akin to Brett Sparks (The Handsome Family) sonic fabrics…
thanks. the dna part sounds kinda familiar. never heard of molina or keller williams either.
just found this at npr.org :
“… Hold Time won’t be released until Feb. 17, but listeners can hear the entire album here on NPR Music as an exclusive preview, beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET Monday, Jan. 12.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.”
david, you checked out chuck prophet? he’s pretty good, too.
Yeah, Chuck Prophet’s stuff is terrific–thanks, for the reminder–I gotta go and hear some as I haven’t visited those tunes for a while… Thanks, again…
Thanks for the link, Lefty. I quickly listened to a few snippets from each song and it sounds like Lu sings only on “Oh Lonesome Me” (a duet w/ M. Ward) – is that the only song she is on? I need to add the song(s) to my “Guest Appearances” list & download the one(s) she is on for my collection (I’m not going to buy the CD – no offense to fans of M. Ward, but he’s not my thing).
Tom
Here’s an article about M. Ward at nytimes.com (I believe you need to register to read content there).
Tom
March 19, 2009, 9:30 AM
SXSW: Nine O’Clock Services, With M. Ward
By DAVID CARR (NY Times blog)At South by Southwest, the Central Presbyterian Church is almost always going to be a tough ticket. The bookings are carefully curated, the acoustics are great and the space is finite. But it was a whole order of tough outside the M. Ward gig last night. Wristbands and badges, the coin of the realm here, were all nigh useless as a crowd surrounded the church like a moat. And as it turned out, there was good reason to try and fight your way in. The violinist and vocalist Anni Rossi, who was signed by 4AD Records out of Minnesota – embraced the churchy vibe, sending ethereal sounds up into the rafters as people sat quietly before exploding with applause. And the reverence went up a notch when M. Ward came out. A huge cross was the only splash of light in the dimly lit church, apart from the flashes of cameras. The singer said very little, but played an exquisite set, including a Neil Young cover and guitar work that demonstrated that all those great words come from a very musical place. On “Sad, Sad Song,” he sang, “the hardest thing in the world to do is to find somebody believes in you.” Less hard, it should be pointed out, when you are in a church full of believers.
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