M. Ward - Post-War

With five studio albums under his belt, Matt Ward seems to be quite the pro at this music malarkey. The folk devil has even roped in Jim James from My Morning Jacket and Neko Case from The New Pornographers to cameo on his latest venture, making ‘Post-War’ his most eagerly-anticipated album to date.

Although perfect for campfire singalong in places, such as ‘Requiem’ in all its smoky charm, the politically-driven content depicting human depravity and the effects of conflict on a good soul are usually shielded away at Scout camp. His political resistance is a lot less commercialised and egocentric than the attempts by Green Day and Eminem to ‘make a stand’ against Bush and Co, and is, ultimately, intensely satisfying.

Whilst Billy Joel and Marshall brazenly stick two fingers up to The Man, and may just as well have shouted obscenities through a megaphone with the subtlety they spared, Ward slyly reels us in through intricate song-smithery. Ward also manages to create that intimate closeness between artist and listener, reminiscent of Coldplay’s ‘Parachutes’, although it’s hard to imagine Chris Martin exclaiming ‘To Go Home’’s sentiment of ‘God it’s great to be alive’.

‘Post-War’ is an album to philosophise to. ‘Chinese Translation’ encapsulates this notion perfectly, as Ward describes himself meeting a wise man in the mountains and being allowed to ask him three questions, one of which is ‘if life is really as short as they say, then why is the path so long?’. Certainly no shallow sentiments on this album; our first question would most certainly be ‘where did I put those damn car keys?’.