Feb 22 2009
M.Ward - Hold Time
I first saw M.Ward playing live with his other band She and Him a while ago. I’d like to thank my friend Zach for inadvertently encouraging me to listen to this album.
Hold Time has an abundance of unique guitar tones, and each song is sonically different from the last. Somehow he still managed to maintain the flow of the album despite the differences.
His obvious guitar skill is a great selling point here, and it’s immediately obvious that he knows his way around a fretboard. His soft, breathy voice is an interesting complement to his instrument.
The opening track, For Beginners, eases the listener into the music and prepares them for what’s to come. From the 13 songs that follow, I can’t name one that doesn’t hold it’s own. I think I hear some Zooey Deschanel making an early appearance on track number two - I’m not too surprised to find her here.
The title-track marks a departure from it’s upbeat, guitar-driven brethren. Composed mainly of orchestral strings and piano, the song is the most relaxing moment on the album, giving the listeners a time to reflect on what they’ve heard so far.
Another song that stuck with me, was Epistemology. The drums provide a solid beat which is fairly prominent in the song, and the guitar work is simple yet appropriate.
Given M.Ward’s previous albums and his work with She and Him, he’s been responsible for some great music in the past few years. I’m interested to see what he comes up with next. Be sure to check out his website: mwardmusic.com
Sincerely,
BW.
