M. Ward: Post - War : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Matt Ward is one eccentric troubadour worth your lunch money. His smoky, seductive warble recalls Devendra Banhart and a less-grizzled Tom Waits; he knows how to make whimsy sound really good; and he knows pain, but he's no sad sack. He can also write: His fifth album shows a true familiarity with the clear-eyed mortality and dusty tunefulness of classic roots music. Post-War is long on gentle acoustic songs as well as rockier fare with ramshackle atmospherics and classic-pop melodies; there's also front-porch country folk ("Rollercoaster") and bar-band stuff ("Right in the Head"). Character sketches like "Requiem" are fully formed and touching, and some of the up-tempo songs -- especially "To Go Home" -- suggest Phil Spector producing Nick Drake. It all sounds familiar but strange, and beautiful enough to suck you in.