Songwriter gently crafts lyrics and melody
By Michael Houston
The raspy, low voice of M. Ward sways you to listen to his words - formed with his years of wisdom and experience, evident through the wisps of gray in his dark mess of hair.
For those who missed his show last Sunday evening at the Crystal Ballroom, all hope is not lost. Simply go to the nearest record store and pick up one of the prolific songwriter's six albums.
From Portland, M. Ward holds the City of Roses in a special place. He longs for the town when he is away: "Every town is all the same/When you've left your heart in the Portland rain" comes from "Paul's Song." Both times I've seen him play at the Crystal Ballroom, he sings it softly to the audience.
At the core of M. Ward's music, and the group of musicians that back him, is the acoustic guitar. The encore to Sunday's show included a three-minute acoustic, lyricless song. It sounds as if there are two, even three guitarists on stage, but actually it's just one.
Not that M. Ward is always singing somberly into the microphone or taking all the limelight. His recent albums (see: "Post-War") have been increasingly upbeat.
He continues to have a strong folksy, rock background that turns incredibly bluesy. Lots of genres are necessary for an attempt to cover his broad style.
He moves from lulls in the song where his lyrics can be heard to high tempo guitar sections where he plays loudly with the rest of his band.
The musicians he plays with have also been increasing in number. Three different percussion sections crowded the stage, along with another guitarist and a bassist.
At the show, he gave one of the songs during his encore to the other guitarist, an man with long white hair who played a blues song with M. Ward and the rest of the band backing him up.
Although he may not be playing another show in Portland for awhile, M. Ward has enough EPs and LPs to satisfy any music lover for a while. He also appears on other musicians' work, including the rather recent "Four Winds" EP by Bright Eyes.
