M. Ward, indie's sophisticated back-porch minstrel, can be difficult to place within any sort of classification. He does not seem to be vehemently avoiding any sort of cataloging. His throaty, creaking voice and lo-fi ruckus have been slightly too off-kilter and laid back to compete for attention with blog darlings like Tapes ‘n Tapes.
It is apparent that Ward is a simple man with an old soul and a deep nostalgia for the aging sound of Delta blues and dusty, country twang. The sound of Americana, cultivated by 1920s guitar greats like Leadbelly, Big Bill Broonzy, Hank Williams and Robert Johnson, can have trouble pleasing the modern ear because of crackling distortion and inadequate recording equipment. But technology has allowed for artists such as Ward, Beck, Wilco, the Mountain Goats and Kurt Cobain to resurrect and pay homage to the complicated guitars and pianos of the past.
Recorded in the attic of friend and producer Mike Mogis in Oregon, Post-War hoards bits and pieces of the simple American life from the country sound of Nashville to the surfer sound of Honolulu captured on the track ""Neptune's Net.""
The title of Ward's latest album may conjure up expectations of anti-war sentiment and political commentary that have become common everywhere in the American media since the beginning of the Bush presidency. However, Post-War is more of an undertaking to explore the American psyche, which has endured the consequences of war while simultaneously bearing the sufferings of an impending new war again and again, from the Revolutionary War through the Iraq War.
By focusing on war's effects, Ward easily gains access to potent ideas about life and death, past and present. The album is about loss and the endurance of hope, in homage to the traditions of American folk. It is, as all Ward's albums are, deep and introspective, and he kindly invites us to join in on his fun and misery.
On the track ""Requiem,"" a eulogy for an unnamed soldier, Ward remembers ""A man who summoned all his joy when he laughed / and he summoned all of his joy when he cried."" On ""Post-War,"" Ward tackles the more haunting implications of the album's title, singing, ""I've got some hard, hard proof in this song.""
Unlike his 2005 album Transistor Radio, which had a cumbersome 16 tracks full of instrumentals and lengthy ballads, on Post-War Ward has embraced upbeat pop drenched melodies without forsaking his talent and capabilities. Songs like ""Magic Trick"" and ""Rollercoaster"" are light and whimsical. Ward is accompanied for the first time by a full band on Post-War. Neko Case lends her powerful folk warble to ""To Go Home,"" a Daniel Johnston cover. ""Chinese Translation,"" one of the strongest tracks on the album, features the lead singer from My Morning Jacket, Jim James.
Ward's deep appreciation for the past gives him an air of timelessness, but he also manages to channel to the listener an eagerness to create and reinterpret according to his own musicianship and personal experience.
