ARTIST SNAPSHOT: M. Ward

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

M. Ward Tour Dates