Customer Reviews

POST-WAR [Vinyl]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I heard my father say that about his old music once, and I never thought I would ever feel the same way about music of my generation, but Matt Ward's music definitely comes from another, better place. It's his voice that will make you take notice first, a gravelly but sweet whisper that recalls Tom Waits or a young Greg Brown. His virtuosic but highly expressive guitar picking will appeal to folkies, hippies and guitar nerds. But his songs, it must be said, are timeless, having the instant feel of Tin Pan Alley standards or hillbilly classics of another age, yet sounding fresh and inspired. His latest is perhaps his most varied-sounding record--check out the great string section on the opening "Poison Cup," or the garage-surf instrumental "Neptune's Net"--but it still has the otherworldly, shimmering beauty of his already classic "End of Amnesia" and is just as accessible as the indie-rific "Transfiguration of Vincent." The songs and the arrangements are slightly more lively and fleshed-out--as opposed to the preponderance of "ditties" that filled out last year's slightly-disappointing-but-still-pretty-darn-good "Transistor Radio." Again, he shows his gift for interpreting the works of other talented songwriters with a rousing cover of Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home," but standout original tracks like "Chinese Translation" and the mesmerizing title track will make this the album that pushes him into the spotlight as one of the most inspiring songwriters and musicians around. Fabulous.

I happened to catch M. Ward in a live performance on "Letterman," and rushed out the very next day to buy the CD. I think the tune he performed was "Chinese Translation," which is among the many standouts on this excellent disc. I would rank this as the second-best release of the year so far - right beneath Neko Case's "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" (and it's no surprise that Ms. Case herself makes a cameo appearance here - talent tends to attract talent). Trying to place this disc into a genre is a bit difficult, but I sort of like the "lo-fi indie folk" term used by another reviewer. But this is not coffee-house snooze music by any stretch of the imagination. On tunes like "Magic Trick" you can hear echoes of the loose, raucous sound that used to be the trademark of King Bruce and the E Street-ers themselves. Genre almost doesn't matter, though, with music this good. Buy it, slip it into your car stereo and take a long drive - preferably out in the country. I guarantee you'll keep it in your car player for weeks, if not months.

I just saw M. Ward last night in San Diego -- what a show! Every song was beautifully rendered, particularly the great songs from Post-War (the newest album). This album is rootsy -- reaching back into the best of the Blues, early jazz, country, folk -- and yet also modern in the sense of being "lo-fi" and "alt-rock" yet not so self-conscious as other practitioners of those "genres" of music. Buy this album and enjoy the mostly mellow, well-thought out tones and lyrics. And see him live with his talented backing band if you ever get the chance!

Just so surprisingly good I ended up with the whole M Ward collection, of which "Post-War" is the most interesting and consistent (which means that if he's getting better each time, eventually he will put out the perfect record and the world can end in peace). Pure sentiment on songs like "Requiem" end up rocking your socks off. "Chinese Translation" will make you smile for about two hours after.

This is a record from a talent who puts in the hard work of writing and polishing good songs. You'll admire it, you'll enjoy it, you'll annoy all your friends with endless emails until they buy it. Don't make me do that to you. Spend the 13 bucks and thank me later.

FYI. I saw M Ward live. He puts on a good, loose show. If he comes to your neighborhood you should drop in.

Didn't know much about this artist until recently, seeing him play with Spoon and Bright Eyes on ACL. It's been in the car's CD slot 1 for more than a month now. It's good - so I bought Transistor Radio and the Transfiguration of Vincent too.

this makes for another excellent record from matt ward, or "m.ward". this album lacks the variety of transfiguation of vincent and transistor radio but that's not a bad thing. while those records had more variety in sound this record sounds more focused and has a very "old time" or, even, timeless feel to it. matt's voice is very unique and ranges from a soft tenor croon to a low guttural baritone. all in all, this is beatiful stuff. i would say if your a fan of tom waits' older records from the 70's you would probably really like this record- or any of m's.

Solid can be damning praise for something, but in this sense, I intend it as high praise. POST WAR is not the sort of album that will "Change your world", but will reward you everytime you play it. It has a timeless quality, that makes me think I'll still be into it a dozen years down the road. All the songs are of high quality, but MAGIC TRICK, CHINESE TRANSLATION, REQUIEM and ROLLERCOASTER stand out in my book as potential classics. It's not cutting edge, it's just really good, and that's a worthy investment in my book.

M Ward is a songwriter it's almost impossible to hate. He's talented, prolific, has a beautiful voice and conjures a feeling of history and tradition that feels comfortable and warm.

Still, every time he comes out with a new album, reviewers fawn over it, remark on perhaps some new instrumentation and proclaim a step forward. I want to like him and do love many of his songs. But I still feel that one M. Ward album is enough. There is not enough different here from Transistor Radio or The Transifiguration of Vincent to leave me completely satisfied with this purchase.

But again - who can hate him. The music is pleasant and inoffensive.

M. Ward has been busy since his days with the band Rodriguez, and his latest release will appeal to a broader audience. If you enjoy velvety singing, smooth guitar work and great songwriting, then this is a CD for you.
Poison Cup, To Go Home (A Daniel Johnston cover) and the title track are brilliant. M. Ward will capture your heart with this album and give you a sense of hope, despite some of the song topics, which in some cases are quite "heavy". If you enjoy this CD, then proceed next to Transfiguration of Vincent. You won't be disappointed. Easily, Post War is one of the best releases of 2006.

I like many cought the performance on letterman, however i have always watched late night shows and their music segment at the end. I have never been impressed enough to go out and buy a cd but, there is always a first time for everything and here it is.

M. Ward is like nothing i have ever heard. The crazy instruments they use that create such unique sounds and his microphone, yeah know the chrome ones back in the day almost the size of two fists like Elvis used to use, that creates this distant scratchy voice which blends nicely into what ever classification you want to consider this music.

It has roots in country, some in bluegrass or folk, with a twist of modern because the lyrics down sound country, like oh baby i am so sad, my dog is so lonely, sorry about that. Anywho, so i don't classify it, to me it maybe the first style of music that is so eclectic that it is totally original and unclassifiable. M. Ward is something music has been try to create since radio but only now has it begun.

Try listing to all the other albums as well, you'll be surprised.