If projects like She & Him with Zooey Deschanel or Monsters of Folk didn’t make M. Ward known to the larger music community, well, aside from saddening me, really needs to rectified. On M. Ward’s seventh studio album, A Wasteland Companion, he’s channeling the past with a brighter future, and makes up for the blunders of his last solo album Hold Time. This time, Ward utilizes a wide variety of artists to bring some life back to the life of the M. Ward machine; Guests like Rachel Cox (Oakley Hall), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Tobey Leaman (Dr. Dog), and of course Zooey Deschanel. With greater range, Ward puts forth a set of stellar tracks, worthy of his catalog, prior to Post War.

The opening track, “Clean Slate” is a bit misleading. Those looking for a mostly acoustic Ward album can think again. While “Clean Slate” features simple instrumentation (Seriously, there is just a pair of acoustic guitars here; one being played with a slide.), the arrangement and guitar melody of the track is one of those duh moments you get when you listen to Jeff Buckley’s  Grace, and realize that, while the the melodies are simple at times, the note placement is so simple stupid, that you wonder why no one has done it before. The track is a tribute to the late Alex Chilton of Big Star, and in stark tribute, the song is almost a modern take on the Big Star song “Thirteen.” Lyrically, Ward puts forth a beautiful send off to the music icon: “Somewhere in another place (who knows could be another lifetime), everything we gave away returns like a scene from a fugitive dream, and you only have to wait a little while before you find the true.”

The third track, “Me and My Shadow” is one of the best tracks on the album. It features a back up vocal from Zooey Deschanel, and has a Black Keys “Little Black Submarines” acoustic intro/electric play out. The song is about imitators, and Ward compares them to a shadow on the wall. At points, the song sounds like Del Shannon’s “Runaway,” giving it a retro feel. After that, Ward really starts to bring the rain, especially towards the latter half of the album, with highlights like “Watch the Show,” “There’s a Key,” “Crawl to You,” and “Pure Joy.”

The album isn’t flawless by any means, and there are three tracks that certainly hinder. The first is surprisingly the lead single from the album, “Primitive Girl.” This mid-tempo track goes nowhere, and has the weakest lyrics on the album. The two covers, “Sweetheart,” a Daniel Johnston song, and “I Get Ideas,” a track made famous by Desi Arnaz and Louis Armstrong, falls a bit flat. There is a stigma in covering Daniel Johnston tunes, one where the performer often can’t project the emotion that Johnston had in recording it. In that sense, Ward fails, as with “I Get Ideas,” which is sped up for this version. Surprisingly though, the two tracks fit together well, and feel almost like a story.

M. Ward’s spin on classic ideas come off as great modern revolutions. Through simplicity and beauty, Ward captures your heart, breaks it, and crawls back to it, all on the same album. It’s humanity that really makes this album a compelling listen, and in it’s human nature that Ward thrives. Put on some headphones and allow Ward to steal your heart.

Album Rating: Buy It on CD or Vinyl

Listening Co-efficient: Passive Listen

If you’d like your music reviewed on teamhellions.com email recordreviewsonhellions@gmail.com