M Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent

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Free Music Notes for Transfiguration of Vincent

Free Music Review: The angel is in the details
Hit: 5 Stars

I'd be willing to wager that M. Ward knows his John Fahey, Howlin' Wolf/Tom Waits (he's getting the growl on), and Captain Beefheart (the tweak factor) backwards and forwards. Like any jazz player worth his salt, he also knows how to use the silence between notes as an inviting guest room. One of the warmer aspects of this and his previous album is that there is enough room for the listener not only to pull up a chair and kick up his/her legs, but to haul in the sofa - there's room for everyone and everyone will hear something different. For a sense of Ward's range, listen to "Undertaker", a beautiful lament, and then "Helicopter", which will have you stomping your foot on the sawdust floor. "Get To The Table on Time" feels like a song out of time -it has a catchy guitar riff and ends before you can say, "Beam me up". "Dead Man" is just plain timeless - haiku with guitar.

To finish things off, there is a deconstructed, hushed, almost deadpan version of "Let's Dance" reminiscent of Cat Power's skinning of "Satisfaction" - it's been transformed into an aching ballad. Ward removes the tonsils, gall bladder, and all those pesky appendages to get at the essence of his craft. And what are the best songs anyway, but heart and guts?

Transfiguration of Vincent Poster

"This is a dark night of the soul record, a distant country cousin of Young's Tonight's The Night." -- The Wire

"Another masterclass in deft guitar picking smudged with piano, harmonica, and a voice like honey drizzled onto a dry creekbed." -- Uncut

* First time available on vinyl!

* 180 gram audiophile quality vinyl with expanded artwork by original album artist John King.

* CD released by Merge Records in 2003 has sold over 100,000 copies.

* Current member of She & Him with Zooey Deschanel.

* Announcements through website/blog campaign.

* Ads with prominent web publications.

M. Ward's third album places him in the forefront of a modern movement that is clearly progressive while simultaneously sounding regressive, manifesting a genius that is pure and untempered. His music defies description except to say it is coming from somewhere steeped in early blues with a Neil Young overlay and the feel of country, blues, pop, and folk. People point to Tom Waits and others as Ward's forbearers, but the muse here is genuinely unique and the sounds are those that only a budding genius could make. The opening riff of "Fool Says" feels like it came from Abbey Road, but by the song's end you have been dipped in Young and Dylan. M. Ward makes beautiful music--sounds like you have never encountered--and sings along with the melodies as if he can't help himself. Who could if they had this much soul? It is all coming from a very deep place, and you owe it to yourself to hear these songs because they are the most soulful and melodic tunes you will have heard in quite some time. If you put this album on your turntable it will be a long time before you take it off. The more you listen, the deeper it gets--just like M. Ward himself. This is genius--pure genius--and you need to hear it.

"Some time in 2035, I'm going to pull this album out, and it's going to sound just as good as it does now. There's something running through it that broadcasts timelessness and defies genre constraints." -- Pitchfork [8.3]

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