M. Ward - Hold Time

I was surprised by how captivated I became the first time I heard Matt Ward’s 2001 album End of Amnesia. For it to have been a relatively new album was surprising; his breathy vocals, unpolished guitar sound and shortwave radio effects seemed to be projected from another age.

Since then, Ward’s releases have sounded progressively cleaner, and although his reliance on older equipment and styles remains, ‘'Hold Time’' displays a certain immediacy that wasn’t present in his earlier work. Like his collaboration with Zooey Deschanel (as She & Him) last year, the majority of songs here clock in around the three-minute mark. However, whilst the songs on their Volume One were occasionally indiscernible from each other, Ward’s variety of lyrical subjects and musical tones provides an altogether more enlightening experience.

Opener ‘For Beginners’ possesses a warmth that is sustained throughout the whole album, Ward singing that “when you’re absolute beginners, it’s a panoramic view.” Such a panoramic, objective view of the world often characterises his lyrics: in the same way that ‘Chinese Translation’ on his last album saw his attentions turned to heartbreak, angst and the circularity of human existence, the best lyrical points here imply a wisdom beyond his years.

‘Epistemology’ is the outstanding song on the album, typifying the prevalence of religious imagery on Hold Time. Ward sings about how a Catholic upbringing attempts to teach people how to live, but leaves the narrator utterly unprepared for an experience as intense and seemingly random as falling in love. Spiritual themes crop up from the first lyrics on the album to the last; the following track, ‘Blake’s View’, is a song of consolation to a grieving loved one, based on the repeated lyrical theme that “death is just a door, you’ll be reunited on the other side”.

Elsewhere, there are collaborations with Deschanel, and members of Grandaddy and DeVotchKa. Most notable, however, is Ward’s stunning duet with country-rock legend Lucinda Williams, who offers her rasping vocals in perfect contrast to a heartbreaking string arrangement on a melancholic cover of the classic ‘Oh, Lonesome Me’. Hold Time would be worth hearing for this alone.

Hold Time is out now.

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