Hold Time

Few artists in the 2000s make records that sound simultaneously as postmodern and as timeless as M. Ward's. Like TRANSISTOR RADIO and POST-WAR, 2009's HOLD TIME recycles blues, folk, and country with a forward-thinking sensibility, then filters it all through a gorgeous, vintage, dreamy shimmer. True, HOLD TIME sounds much like its predecessors--there are no stylistic leaps forward here--yet the allure of Ward's retro-themed sonic landscape is as strong as ever.
The album's twangy surf guitars, subtle strings, reverb-kissed vocals, and mild, psychedelic washes of distortion are winning on the album's covers (which include Buddy Holly's "Rave On" and Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me") and on Ward's originals. Guest appearances from Zooey Deschanel, Lucinda Williams, and Grandaddy's Jason Lytle add color and texture to the tunes, but never at the expense of Ward's native sound, which swirls around the listener like campfire smoke. Still, the album may shine brightest at its most intimate, poetic moments, such as the stripped-down, acoustic "One Hundred Million Years."