M. Ward
More Rain
MERGE
7/10
M. Ward’s latest album, More Rain, is appropriately titled for several reasons. His music has always had the feeling of a rainy day, but not in a depressing sense. It’s the kind of steady, dependable afternoon rain, sitting on the porch with a warm drink on a cool summer day. More Rain is a lot like his other albums in that way. Which isn’t a bad thing, nor is it an indication that this album is repetitive or boring. It’s just that Ward has the uncanny ability to keep putting out solid albums filled with songs that feel both fresh and timeless, songs you’ve heard before even though it’s the first time you’ve heard them (although the album’s lone cover, The Beach Boys’ “You’re So Good to Me,” perhaps anchors that feeling). The album moves back and forth from softer moments like “I’m Listening (Child’s Theme)” or “Slow Driving Man” to up-tempo tracks like “Confession” and “Girl from Conejo Valley.” All in all, More Rain is what’s come to be expected from M. Ward: a particularly earthy kind of rain, welcome and refreshing every time.
