M. Ward likes old things. He digs the now-hip eastern Portland, Oregon, neighborhood where he lives with his wife for the Victorian architecture and affordable prices. He loves William Blake, Walt Whitman and the Beats, but he sees no reason to keep up with contemporary authors because, he says, "I don't want too many modern voices infiltrating my bubble." And the 35-year-old singer-songwriter — born Matt Ward — plays a $50 pawn-shop guitar he's had for almost a decade and is...

On his first solo disc since teaming up with singer-actress Zooey Deschanel on the She and Him project last year, raspy-voiced troubadour M. Ward seems different. His immaculately arranged Americana is still as comforting as an old cardigan, but now there's a hint of sunshine in the melodies, especially on the Deschanel-assisted "Never Had Nobody Like You." There's a touch of Spector and Wilson in...