AUSTIN, TX (CelebrityAccess) — M. Ward returns with a new album, ‘More Rain,’
for release on Merge Records on March 4, 2016. Ward has released a string of solo
albums over the past several years, along with five LPs with Zooey Deschanel as
‘She & Him’ and a 2009 collaborative album with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and
Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis under the moniker ‘Monsters of Folk.’ In
addition to his work as a musician, Ward is an accomplished producer, handling
those duties for such luminaries as Mavis Staples, Jenny Lewis, and Carlos
Forster as well as his own musical projects.
M. Ward knows how to live with rain. Having spent the last decade-and-a-half
based in the perennially damp Portland, Oregon, the singer-songwriter and
producer has learned how to shine through the soggy gloom by simply embracing its
inevitability. For Ward, there is inspiration in a dark sky and harmony in
foreboding winds. And with his new album ‘More Rain,’ he has made a true gotta-
stay-indoors, rainy-season record that looks upwards through the weather while
reflecting on his past.
“I think one of the biggest mysteries of America right now is this: How are we
able to process unending bad news on Page One and then go about our lives the way
the style section portrays us?” says Ward. “There must be a place in our brains
that allows us to take a bird’s-eye view of humanity, and I think music is good
at helping people—myself included—go to that place.”
This album, Ward’s eighth solo affair, finds the artist picking up the tempo and
volume a bit from his previous release, 2012’s ‘A Wasteland Companion.’ Where
that record introspectively looked in from the outside, ‘More Rain’ finds Ward on
the inside, gazing out. Begun four years ago and imagined initially as a DIY
doo-wop album that would feature Ward experimenting with layering his own voice,
it soon branched out in different directions, a move that he credits largely to
his collaborators here who include R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Neko Case, k.d. lang, The
Secret Sisters, and Joey Spampinato of NRBQ. The result is a collection of
upbeat, sonically ambitious yet canonically familiar songs that both propel
Ward’s reach and satisfy longtime fans.
More Rain begins with an actual rainstorm, then throughout the album, guitars
chime, chug, and riff with Ward’s unmistakable earthy tone, while layers of
atmospheric reverb and skittering drums climb and clip in equal measures. As the
cloud of noise rolls in, the layers part ever so slightly to make way for Ward’s
voice, which can play wispy and whimsical in one moment (“Pirate Dial”) or
crackling and smoky in the next (“Time Won’t Wait”) just as well as it can climb
to clear-sky clarity (“Confession”) then drop down to smooth, soulful crooning
(“I’m Listening”), each one after the other. “Girl From Conejo Valley” is a
nostalgic trot through people he used to know and a place he used to be, and
“Slow Driving Man” is sweeping and lush in its orchestral climb towards confident
heights.
As the album ends with the self-assured swing of “I’m Going Higher,” voices join
together in a chorus of rising “ah”s and, for just a second, it seems the storm
outside has slowed, making room for a ray of hopeful sunlight. As Ward knows, the
rainy season is sure to return, but for now, ‘More Rain’ is here to help us with
our perspective.
M. Ward
Availability: Call for
Availability
http://www.mwardmusic.com
Agency (North America)
Ground Control Touring
Agency Relationship: Exclusive
20 Jay Street Suite 838
Brooklyn, NY 11201 United States
Phone: 718-218-8203
Fax: 718-218-8205
http://www.groundcontroltouring.com
Responsible Agent: Eric Dimenstein
Direct Phone: 718-218-8203
Fax: 718-218-8205
E-Mail: eric@groundcontroltouring.com
Agency (UK, Europe)
X-Ray Touring Ltd.
Agency Relationship: Exclusive
2 Holford Yard A
London, WC1X 9HD United Kingdom
Phone: 44-20-7749-3500
Fax: 44-20-7749-3501
http://www.xraytouring.com
Responsible Agent: Steve Strange
Direct Phone: 44-20-7749-3500
Fax: 44-20-7749-3501
E-Mail: steve@xraytouring.com
Management
Silva Artist Management
722 Seward Street
Los Angeles, CA 90038 United States
Phone: 323-856-8222
Fax: 323-856-8256
http://www.sammusicbiz.com
Responsible Manager: John Silva
Direct Phone: 323-856-8222
Fax: 323-856-8256
E-Mail: jsilva@sammusicbiz.com
Responsible Manager: Pete Smith
Direct Phone: 323-856-8222
Fax: 323-856-8256
E-Mail: psmith@sammusicbiz.com
Publicity
Press Here Publicity
138 West 25th Street 9th Floor
New York, NY 10019 United States
Phone: 212-246-2640
Fax: 212-582-6513
http://www.pressherepublicity.com
Responsible Publicist: Chloe Walsh
Direct Phone: 212-246-2640
Fax: 212-582-6513
E-Mail: chloe@pressherepublicity.com
Record Label (North America)
Merge Records
PO Box 1235
Chapel Hill, NC 27514 United States
Phone: 919-688-9969
Fax: 919-688-9970
http://www.mergerecords.com
Record Label (UK & Europe)
Bella Union
120 – 124 Curtain Road
London, EC2A 3SQ United Kingdom
http://www.bellaunion.com
Record Label (Australia)
Liberator Music
9 Dundas Lane
Albert Park
Albert Park, VC, 3206 Australia
Phone: 61-39-69-57-899
http://www.liberatormusic.com.au
