Reviews
M. Ward
Post-War
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Add to del.ico.us.Review Date: 2006-10-02
I don't really like to listen to the radio. I'm not talking about commercial radio, like whatever version of a station named K-Rock with DJs with animals (Mad Dog Dave! Wild Bull Bill!) in their name that's in your town. I suspect that a good many people don't like listening to those stations. I'm talking about talk radio, public radio. It's almost blasphemy when you are a Canadian journalist, to say that you don't spend your mornings and weekends tuned to your local CBC station on the AM frequency. I have nothing against radio; it just doesn't hold my interest for very long.
I suspect that M. Ward likes the radio a lot more than I do; if he has an iPod (which he maybe doesn't), he'll have a bunch of subscriptions to NPR podcasts, I'm thinking. He named his last album Transistor Radio and it did indeed sound kind of like something coming at you from some ancient contraption in your grandparents' house. His new disc, Post-War, loses that affectation (to it's strength, I'd argue). What it keeps is a sense of classic songwriting and the use of its associated instruments -- particularly acoustic guitar -- in a creative and timeless way.
There's still something old-timey about these songs, but that's done in a fresh way; Ward takes elements that could be predictable and adds his own spin to them. Opening track "Poison Cup" features those violins you hear in a soaring love song (similar ones show up again in "Today's Undertaking"), but with the more down-to-earth instrumentals the whole effect is slightly unexpected and charming, just like the classic fade-out at the end.
The album is well-paced; things pick up quickly after the opener, then quiet down a bit with the lovely "Post-War," which strips down the instrumentals and highlights Ward's voice nicely -- as do the backing vocals used throughout the disc, often by serving as a kind of aural counterpoint. The slightly dirgey "Requim" runs seamlessly into "Chinese Translation" -- a song with enthusiastic, upbeat guitar that belies its slightly more cynical lyrics ("If life is really as short as they say/then why is the night so long") -- which then shifts right into the thoughtful "Eyes On The Prize" as things settle down near the end of the album.
Ward's lyrics are a strength; they don't call too much attention to themselves in a pretentious sort of way, but every song has a couple of lines that stand out and stay with you. "God it's good to be alive/it takes the skin right off my hide/to think I'll have to give it all up some day" on "To Go Home" lifts you up with a cliched statement and then immediately turns it around. The instruments on this album are also a highlight. The fuzz guitar on "Right In The Head" add a bit of edge and a mournful touch to the acoustic guitar and tambourine. The guitar is uniformly good, whether electric (used well and sparingly) or acoustic (the base of much of the album).
None of the songs on Post-War goes on for very long; with 12 tracks, the whole thing runs about 37 minutes. But the length isn't missed; each song is a little slice of lovely pop and Americana mixed up with the quirky elements that make them stand out. Drawn out just for the sake of drawing them out, they might become repetitive. Ward's clearly got a sense of how to wrap a song up properly.
Post-War has been positively reviewed on the whole, and there's a good reason why: it's a solid disc that highlights an original performer, showing musical diversity and a subtle wit while still holding on to a cohesive vision. And that's all without veering into cliche or gimmick. It's a tall order, but for the most part, Ward nails it here.
Score: 8.6
- Terri