M. Ward’s Invitation for an Evening

There’s a lot riding on M. Ward’s latest release Transfiguration of Vincent. His record company is betting it’ll be his breakout thanks to the steadily swelling crowds of kids standing mesmerized at his shows before bumrushing the merch stand. And with good reason.M. Ward uniquely blends country and folk-rock to create an overall sound consistent with a night spent in the country chasing lightening bugs, listening to crickets—actually present on the album—and dozing in a hammock. Vibrantly energetic, the album is not. It exists more to set a mood, seeking to draw the listener into its languid world of acoustic guitar, keyboard, light percussion, and banjo. Laid lightly over the bare instruments is Ward’s weathered, raspy voice that suggests wisdom beyond his years.

On the finest, and most folky, track of the album, “Sad, Sad Song,” Ward’s voice is haunting as a man searching for a way to get his true love back. The repetitive lyrical structure finds him asking advice from a doctor, whippoorwill, killer whale, and finally his mama. The advice is always to make a sad, sad song. Ward follows the track with “Undertaker,” in which he asks a gravedigger to put him in a coffin and “throw [him] over the Bayside bridge” if his lover leaves him.

The album concludes in a surprising cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” Totally reworked, Ward invokes romanticism to turn the dance-pop hit of the ‘80s into a simple guitar-and-vocal love song. While there are more up-tempo tracks, such as “Helicopter” and “Get to the Table on Time,” the album is characterized and made memorable by these songs of sweet sadness and nostalgia.