here is the NFO file from Indietorrents
1 For Beginners (AKA Mt. Zion)
2 Never Had Anybody Like You (feat. Zooey Deschanel)
3 Jailbird
4 Hold Time
5 Rave On (feat. Zooey Deschanel)
6 To Save Me (feat. Jason Lytle)
7 One Hundred Million Years
8 Stars of Leo
9 Fisher of Men
10 Oh, Lonesome Me (feat. Lucinda Williams)
11 Epistemology
12 Blake’s View
13 Shangri-La
14 Outro (AKA I’m a Fool to Want You)
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M. Ward is a man trapped in time, stuck in the Oughts but enamored of the music from long ago. Strikingly spare, most M. Ward recordings have a lo-fi grime about them that does not embrace the current hi-def fidelity that some crave. His guitar playing is based on traditional finger picking, using space and tone rather than filling a song with a million notes and chord progressions. In some ways you could say he was a throwback to simpler times where your worth was based on your ability to craft and nurture a song rather than create something instantly disposable. I would think that should be a value worth preserving in a performer. On M. Ward’s new album ‘Hold Time,’ M. Ward embraces the timeless traditions of former troubadours and creates an album that is steeped in the past but also manages to look forwards. ‘Hold Time’ is a concise listen that features M. Ward’s mixed bag of melodies and compositions. Opening track, “Never Had Nobody Like You” is a breezy bit of pop with a guitar riff that initially recalled Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ In The Years” before mutating into a greasy blues. “Jailbird” is a melancholic strum of a song sung with a sigh before leading into the funereal title track that deadpans about a lost relationship. Then the album takes a twist and becomes invigorated with a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On” followed by a sister song in “To Save Me.” The country blues of “Fisher of Men” receives a droll take before leading into a cover of Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me.” “Oh Lonesome Me” was also covered by Neil Young and thankfully did not feature a craggy Lucinda Williams singing along. After this track, it seems that Ward stumbles through “Epistemology” before regaining his footing with “Blake’s View” and “Shangri-La.” M. Ward closes the album with “Outro” a warm fuzz drenched instrumental that linger long after the last note is played.