M. Ward has been busy in the past few years. His high profile side project with "adorkable" actress Zooey Deschanel, She And Him have released two original albums and a Christmas album since 2008, and this is Ward's second in that span. Add in an album from indie supergroup Monsters Of Folk and his own solo effort, 2009's Hold Time and it's clear he's not one for slowing down. Though this is the most prolific he's been in his career, it's far from the best. Hold Time ended an incredible hot streak starting with The Transfiguration Of Vincent in 2003 and running through Transistor Radio and Post-War. His work with She And Him has been affable, but little more than that.
But enough about the past, what of A Wasteland Companion? Back again are the the soft melodies, smokey voice and soothing guitars that you've come to expect from Ward. Though it appears that the instrumental pieces that used to break up his older albums are gone forever. In a way, that makes me sad. His guitar only cover of "You Still Believe In Me" is wonderful, but you do have to wonder ow many more of those he has in his back pocket.
Ward has always been something of a throwback artist. In the past, and here as well, he's been something of a folk artist. He's a wildly talented guitar player, but his songs have always told simple stories and sung with simple melodies. This album brings him forward in time for a little '50s rock and roll (I Get Ideas) and bringing in Deschanel for a little '60s pop (Sweetheart).
Ward has said that he got his trademark singing style from the fact that he used to lay down demos in his basement and didn't want to wake anyone up. When he blew these songs up to album proportions, they kept some of that basement charm. See Transistor Radio's "Big Boat" for an easy example of what ramshackle fun his early "big" songs were. The "small" songs on A Wasteland Companion are as good as ever, just Ward and his guitar soothing your ear canals. The songs he does with a full band though are polished to the point where they lose their personality. Sure, "Primitive Girl" is fun, but really doesn't fit with most of the rest of the album. It's weird to criticize an album for sounding too good, but what can I say? I like rough edges.
That said, it's still a pretty damn good album. I much prefer the softer side of M. Ward, and A Wasteland Companion delivers that. The second half of the album is chock full of the Ward I've loved for years, and really, the polished songs aren't so bad I guess.
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