M. Ward Finalizes Release Date & Title For New LP

Hold Time is out in February of 2009.

Paste has more info here.

Visit M. Ward at his official site.

MP3: M. WArd - Live On KEXP

Conor Oberst, M. Ward & Gillian Welch Cover Lucinda Williams

Enjoy their brilliant collaboration on 'Sharp Cutting Wings' (in Austin) below.


MP3: Conor Oberst - Danny Callahan

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #642

M. Ward - Poison Cup (Live)

One of many highlights from his magnificent SXSW gig.

Visit M. Ward on MySpace.

MP3: M. Ward - Poison Cup (Live)

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #617

M. Ward & Jim James - Chinese Translation (Live)

The most beautiful duet of SXSW 2008? Quite possibly.

Read my review of the intimate church gig here.

MP3: M. Ward & Jim James - Chinese Translation (Live)

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #604

M. Ward - Oh Lonesome Me

A breathtaking Don Gibson cover performed last month in Austin.

Read my review of that intimate SXSW gig here.

MP3: M. Ward - Oh Lonesome Me

M. Ward @ SXSW: Like A Prayer

After much internal debate, I'd have to award my favorite performance of SXSW 2008 to M. Ward's (mostly) solo set at St. David's Church on 7th Street. With a capacity just over 100, the show was intimate, breathtaking and downright spectacular. For the first half of the 45-minute gig, M. Ward played favorites from Post-War ('Rollercoaster', 'Poison Cup') alongside unreleased tracks, expected for inclusion on his new LP due out this summer.

For the latter section of the evening, M. Ward collaborated with My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James on roughly a half dozen tunes. While I adored Matt's duets with Conor Oberst at Bright Eyes' Bowery show last year, I think I appreciated this particular pairing even more. All in all, a truly phenomenal end to a terrific week in Austin, Texas.

Head to M. Ward's official site here. Enjoy a track from Transistor Radio at bottom.

MP3: M. Ward - Regeneration No. 1 [alt link]

SXSW 2008: Matt's Best Of Day 4

1. M. Ward. (MySpace/MP3)
2. Kate Nash & Billy Bragg. (MySpace/MP3)
3. Project Jenny, Project Jan. (MySpace/MP3)
4. Cloud Cult. (MySpace/MP3)
5. Cassettes Won't Listen. (MySpace/MP3)

Retro Clip: M. Ward Visits ABC Australia, Circa '03

Enjoy 'Vincent O'Brien' below. Visit M. Ward at his official site. MP3 at bottom.


MP3: M. Ward - Vincent O'Brien [alt link]

Bright Eyes Duets With M. Ward At Obama Rally

Watch their collaboration on 'Landlocked Blues' from 2/7/08 in Omaha, Nebraska.


MP3: Bright Eyes - Four Winds

Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward = She & Him

The duo will release Volume 1 in March.

Track listing for the record is as follows:

1. Sentimental Heart
2. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
3. This Is Not A Test
4. Change Is Hard
5. I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
6. Take It Back
7. I Was Made For You
8. You Really Got A Hold On Me
9. Black Hole
10. Got Me
11. I Should Have Known Better

Read my review of M. Ward @ Town Hall here.

MP3: M. Ward - Live On KEXP

M. Ward, Beck, Rufus Featured In 'Best Songwriters' Book

The tome was released last week. Here's a snippet from the official press release: *Song is an enthralling compilation of songwriting wisdom from one hundred of the biggest names in music. From country to rock to folk to alternative, this genre-spanning collection of interviews captures the anecdotes, history, and wisdom of the best songwriters around.* Intrigued? Purchase the book via Amazon.

Read my review of M. Ward @ Town Hall here.

MP3: M. Ward - Poison Cup [alt link]

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #337

Zooey Deschanel & M Ward - Bring It On Home To Me

A beautiful acoustic Sam Cooke cover.

Photo courtesy of New York.

MP3: Z. Deschanel & M. Ward - Bring It On Home To Me

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #213

M. Ward - Live On KEXP

Setlist:
Post-War
Story Of An Artist
Eyes On The Prize
Chinese Translation

MP3: M. Ward - Live On KEXP

Bright Eyes Plus LA Philharmonic Plus M. Ward Equals

The following clip of 'Smoke Without Fire' from last month's (seemingly epic) gig at The Hollywood Bowl has just been shared on YouTube. Check out my review of Bright Eyes' Bowery show from March (which also featured M. Ward) here. MP3 at bottom.

MP3: Bright Eyes & M. Ward - Smoke Without Fire

M. Ward Covers Willie Nelson With Norah Friggin' Jones

See below for a clip of M. Ward & Norah (Friggin') Jones duetting on a cover of Willie Nelson's classic tune, 'Permanently Lonely', back in June at Berkeley's The Greek Theater. Nice job! In other M. Ward collaborative news, Matt has teamed up with actress, Zooey Deschanel, for the upcoming Go-Getter soundtrack. Learn more about that pairing here. Download their highly enjoyable track, 'When I Get To The Border', at bottom.


MP3: M. Ward featuring Zooey Deschanel - When I Get To The Border

M. Ward Did NOT Sell His Soul To Mastercard

M. Ward's spokespeople explain the scenario via his official MySpace blog: *Mastercard was denied permission by M. Ward to use his version of Daniel Johnston's "TO GO HOME" - so Mastercard found some anonymous musicians to re-record the song.

Neither M. Ward nor the musicians that appeared on his version have any involvement in this recording or the commercial.*

M. Ward plays a free show at the World Financial Plaza on September 18th.

My review of his magnificent Town Hall gig, from late January, can be read here.

MP3: M. Ward - To Go Home

M. Ward Records Duet With Actress For Upcoming Film

Actress Zooey Deschael has teamed up with TMS-fave M. Ward for the forthcoming flic, The Go-Getter (which was a huge smash at this year's AFI Dallas + Sundance Festivals).

You can sample their collaboration here on the movie's MySpace page. I give it two slutty thumbs up. It's also been confirmed that Matt will have a small cameo at some point during the film. Read Tape Rock's review of the movie here. Check out a tune from M. Ward's Post-War below.

MP3: M. Ward - Requiem

Reissued M. Ward Album Cover: Love It Or Hate It?

Here's the cover art for M. Ward's 1999 debut LP, Duet For Guitars No. 2, which was recently re-released via Merge (more info here). Love it or hate it? An MP3 from M. Ward's equally magnificent, Transfiguration Of Vincent, can be downloaded below.

MP3: M. Ward - Get To The Table On Time

M. Ward Gets Reissued, Postpones Boston Orchestra Gig

Bitchfork is reporting: *Due to a situation no one could've predicted (the details of which remain unclear), Ward's two-night run with the orchestra has been postponed until next year.* To keep yourself in the loop about the rescheduled dates, keep your eyes peeled to BostonPops.com. Additionally, M. Ward's first record, Duet For Guitars #2, will be re-released on July 10th. The album's been out of print for nearly seven years and is being offered with a complimentary bonus disc featuring three new tracks! Pre-order your copy here via Merge's online store. Lastly, M. Ward will join Spoon, MIA & Modest Mouse at this year's (first) Treasure Island Festival in SF Bay. More details here.

MP3: M. Ward - Poison Cup

Bright Eyes, Feist, M. Ward Cover Jesse Harris For Soundtrack

The upcoming soundtrack to the Ethan Hawke-directed film, The Hottest State, will feature a bevy of Jesse Harris covers as arranged by Hawke, himself.

He tells Billboard: "From our first conversation, I was overwhelmed by the quality of Jesse songwriting and how perfectly matched it was to my aspirations for the tone and mood of the film."

Learn more about the upcoming movie, which happens to be an adaptation of his own novel of the same name, here on its IMDB page. Discover Jesse Harris (if you're not already familiar with him) here.

Tracklisting:
Rocha- 'Ya No Te Veria Mas (Never See You)'
Willie Nelson- 'Always Seem To Get Things Wrong'
Feist- 'Somewhere Down The Road'
Bright Eyes- 'Big Old House'
Emmylou Harris- 'The Speed Of Sound'
Jesse Harris- 'It Will Stay With Us'
The Black Keys- 'If You Ever Slip'
M.Ward- 'Crooked Lines'
Norah Jones- 'World Of Trouble'
Brad Mehldau- 'Never See You'
Cat Power- 'It's Alright To Fail'
Jesse Harris- 'One Day The Dam Will Break'
Tony Scherr- 'You, The Queen'
Rocha- 'No More'
Jesse Harris- 'Dear Dorothy'
Rocha- 'Never See You'

MP3: M. Ward - Sweethearts On Parade