M. Ward - supernatural thing [Eco Mix]

M. Ward's supernatural thing arrives on eco mix vinyl, a fitting home for a 2023 record that sounds as if it was dug up from a shared American songbook rather than manufactured.

Known as a solo craftsman and as one half of She & Him, Ward has spent two decades blending folk, country, blues and vintage pop into something unmistakably his own. This album, released on Anti-, opens the door to friends. First Aid Kit, Neko Case, Jim James, Shovels & Rope, Scott McMicken and Gabriel Kahane drop in, yet the songs never lose Ward's intimate, slightly weathered centre, and eight of the ten are his own.

"Too Young to Die" sets the tone, with the Söderberg sisters of First Aid Kit spreading airy harmonies across a sunlit melody, and they return on "Engine 5" for a chorus with a breezy, Beach Boys glow. Ward also takes on David Bowie's "I Can't Give Everything Away" from Blackstar, making it sound right at home among his own songs, and signs off with a live reading of Daniel Johnston's "Story of an Artist", tender and a little ragged in all the right ways.

It's a warm, generous album, the sound of a songwriter comfortable enough in his own voice to share the microphone. Put it on when the evening gets quiet.