M. Ward - More Rain Album Review

M. Ward's latest offering 'More Rain' comes after living in notoriously wet Portland for over a decade. In fact, the opening track is simply that - rain. It truly does have the feeling of a real rainy-day record; huddled inside watching it pour down through the window. That's not to say it's bleak by any means, it's the kind of record you'd want to makes excuses to stay at home and listen to.

Ward carries on his tradition of writing superbly classy and timeless pop songs, something that he also managed brilliantly with his side project with Zooey Deschanel, She & Him. He's a musician that's hard to tie down, he sits somewhere between the worlds of Tom Waits and indie-folk musicians such as Bright Eyes and Father John Misty.

Each song on the album is so wonderfully crafted, they would be hard to pin down to any specific decade if you didn't know that they were by Ward. He's said in many interviews that he doesn't often listen to contemporary musicians, instead he likes to listen to much older music that has stood the test of time. On 'More Rain' you can hear the love for vintage rock 'n roll pouring from every track.

'Pirate Dial' and 'I'm Listening' are dream-like; Ward's soft, broken voice calling to you through the mist. 'Time Won't Wait Up' is the perfect example of the more uptempo side of the album. It's classy pop; catchy, loud, and easy to dance around to. There's not one 'filler' track on the album, it's beautiful and uncomplicated throughout. With 8 previous solo albums under his belt and countless collaborations, this is a truly self-assured and confident record. There's no doubt that just like the music Ward so loves, this album will stand the test of time.